Justin Dunn/Photo by Ed Delany

In Baseball America‘s Hot Sheet for the week ending June 10, 2018, the newest member of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies pitching staff was ranked fourth after two dominating starts.  In ranking Dunn fourth, Baseball America said:

After finishing his high Class A career with a 10-strikeout dazzler, the Mets saw fit to move Dunn to Double-A, where a circus was waiting. He made his Binghamton debut in Trenton, where he joined Tim Tebow and a rehabbing Yoenis Cespedes. Dunn had no problem shutting out the raucous crowds—not to mention the opposition—and opened his turn at the new level with nine strikeouts, one shy of the season high he’d set in his previous start.

There were two other factors not mentioned by Baseball America, which made his debut all the more impressive.  First, there was the added pressure of Trenton being close enough to his hometown of Freeport, New York.

Another factor at play was Dunn pitching through the rain.  While some will knock his control with his walking four batters in those conditions, it should be noted he had enough control to strike out nine batters.

For the week, Dunn was 1-0 while allowing no runs on two hits in seven innings pitched in each of his starts.  In his last start in St. Lucie, he walked one and struck out 10.  In his first start with Binghamton, he struck out nine while walking four.  In total, he’s exhibited swing and miss stuff, and as he has progressed this season, he has become increasingly more difficult to hit.