Ross
Dunn

USA CNT: Dunn showed flashes of excellence during an up-and-down sophomore campaign at Florida State, finishing 2-4, 4.88 with a whopping 77 strikeouts in 48 innings over 16 appearances (11 starts). That strikeout rate hints at his upside — he can miss bats with three very good pitches when he's locked in. Dunn ran his fastball into the mid-90s earlier in the spring but seemed to dial it back a bit for the sake of better command later in the spring, sitting more in the low 90s. He pitched at 92-93 in a one-inning stint for Team USA, then worked at 89-91 over three innings a few days later. Uncommonly physical and athletic at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, Dunn has a clean high three-quarters arm action and looks the part of a future workhorse. Right now, his best assets are his secondary offerings: an 81-93 mph changeup with very good sink and deception, as well as a decent 81-83 slider with three-quarters depth and average bite. He'll throw both secondary pitches to righties and lefties alike, showing the ability to back-foot the slider for strikeouts against righties or pitch to contact against lefties with the change. His entire repertoire has shown more firmness in the past than it did with Team USA this summer, and it's easy to envision him taking another step and putting all the pieces together as a junior at Arizona State next spring.

Dunn was a revelation in Sunday's rubber game against Wake Forest. He was good in 12 relief appearances as a freshman last year, posting a 2.12 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 12 innings, sitting 91-93 with a promising but inconsistent slider in my ACC tourney looks. Now, as a sophomore, he has blossomed into a bona fide ACC weekend starter, with the stuff to be the most dominant Sunday guy in the country. He certainly dominated against the Demon Deacons, striking out 14 while allowing four hits and three walks over seven sterling innings. He made just one mistake early in the game, allowing a two-run Brock Wilken homer on a fastball over the heart of the plate in the first. He was then in complete control thereafter. A physical 6-foot-3, 221-pound lefty who works around the corner in his delivery, Dunn's fastball has more juice now than it did last spring, sitting at 92-95 early on, touching 94 repeatedly through the first six innings, and reaching back for 96 once in the fifth against Wilken, setting up a dirty back-foot slider for a swinging strikeout on the next pitch. His 82-85 mph slider showed very good tilt and was effective against both righties and lefties, but he also mixed in his 84-86 changeup against hitters from both sides, landing it for a strike and getting some weak contact and empty swings with the pitch. Overall, Dunn looks and has started to perform the part for a potential first round pick in 2023. (Fitt)

2023 Ross Dunn took the bump for Game Three of the series. Unhittable in the Seminole preseason, the lefty won the Sunday starter role over Montgomery. He worked quickly and spotted up to both sides of the plate with an overpowering 91-94 fastball and a hard swing/miss, low-80s curveball. However, this dominance lasted just two innings as Dunn was gassed in the third and was removed from the game with the bases loaded and one out after throwing 59 pitches. Overall, Dunn showed improvement holding runners and fielding his position, to go along with more consistent breaking ball command when compared to my previous look last summer in the Cape.

Cape Cod- A talented rising sophomore, Dunn made 12 relief appearances as a freshman at FSU and posted a 2.13 ERA despite struggling with his control (11 walks against 15 strikeouts in 12.2 innings). He continued to show bat-missing stuff this summer (23 K in 12 IP), but his control clearly remains a work in progress (14 BB). Our staff saw him twice, and his stuff varied from look to look. In one viewing, his fastball sat 90-92 along with a fringe-quality breaking ball at 80-82 and inconsistent control. In the other look, he sat 94-96 for three innings and touched 97, though his command remained miss-or-middle. Very physical at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds with a high three-quarters slot, Dunn's best assets are his size and arm strength, which make it easy to dream on his upside as he refines his feel for pitching. In our second viewing, his breaking ball had more power at 82-86 mph, sometimes looking more like a slider with short tilt when he threw it harder, and sometimes showing bigger downer action like a curveball. The pitch lacks high-end spin rates, however, checking in at 2100-2200 rpm. Likewise, his fastball spin rates are unremarkable, mostly in the 2100s. He did also land an occasional 87 mph changeup (1800 rpm) for a strike, but it's clearly his third offering at this stage. At this point in his development, Dunn looks like an arm-strength reliever, but time will tell if he can develop a starter's command.

Strong framed southpaw at 6-foot-2, 238 pounds. Pitched at 88-90. Curveball has hard, downer break at 79-81. Changeup is 83. Pitches with a slow tempo and out of a high-3/4 slot.