Blake Dunn had three different 4+ hit games last week against Birmingham. The Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder wrapped up the series on Sunday by going 5-5 with a walk, two doubles, three runs scored, an RBI, and he stole his 38th base of the season.
It’s been a breakout season for Dunn, who began the season in High-A Dayton. For Dunn, the problem since being drafted has not been about performing on the field, it’s been staying on the field. Injuries between the time he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 15th round in 2021 and the end of the 2022 season limited him to a total of 48 games.
The 24-year-old began the season with the Dragons and hit .276/.411/.460 in 47 games. He would steal 19 bases in 22 attempts with Dayton before his promotion up to Double-A. Dunn started out 1-12 with the Lookouts in his first three games. Then he ran off an 11-game hitting streak and he’s never looked back.
After yesterday’s 5-hit day, Dunn is now hitting .367/.439/.551 in 36 games with Chattanooga. He’s also stolen 19 bases in 20 tries, giving up 38 steals on the season in 42 attempts. Between the two stops this season he’s hitting .319/.424/.503 with 12 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs, and all of those stolen bases.
Update
A few hours after this was published, Blake Dunn was named as the Southern League Player of the Week. In his five games played he went 13-23 with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, 10 runs scored, six runs batted in, and he stole three bases. He put up a line of .565/.577/1.087 on the week as he just terrorized Birmingham’s pitching staff.
Edwin Arroyo’s turn around
Yesterday the Dayton Dragons won on a walk-off single by Edwin Arroyo. The shortstop’s walk-off single was his third hit of the day. If you look at his season stats, nothing really jumps out at you. The season stats, though, don’t tell you just how well the 19-year-old has been hitting lately.
In the first 158 plate appearances of the season, running the span of his first 36 games of the season, Arroyo hit .182/.234/.311 with nine walks and 38 strikeouts. He wasn’t hitting, wasn’t walking, and wasn’t hitting for much of any power. Then, almost overnight, things changed. In the 43 games that he’s played since then, Arroyo has hit .300/.384/.481 with 20 walks and 41 strikeouts in 185 plate appearances.
The strikeout rate is down a little bit, the walk rate is nearly doubled, and he’s hitting for far more power. All of that has resulted in Arroyo hitting for a higher average, posting a much higher on-base percentage, and both of those things have also given him far more opportunities to steal bases – and he’s gone 14-for-16 in this stretch, to give him 18 on the season.