Dane Dunning

Dunning throws a collection of pitches, none of which are above average. His modus operandi is keeping opposing hitters off balance and trusting his defense. His favorite weapon of choice is his sinker, so an improved infield defense behind him should help matters somewhat this season. Looking at the fact he also has 30% or greater whiff rates on his slider, changeup and curveball makes us wonder whether he could find more success adjusting his pitch utilization. Like many young pitchers, Dunning leaned on his fastball when behind in the count and the league hit a healthy .351 while slugging .544 off the fastball in those counts. The pieces are here for him to take a step forward with some adjustments, but the overall lack of pure stuff limits how high he can climb.

Dunning missed the entire 2019 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery but was thought of highly enough within the White Sox organization to earn a big-league callup last season despite having never pitched beyond Double-A. The vote of confidence paid off as Dunning enjoyed a fine rookie campaign, posting a 3.97 ERA and 1.12 WHIP over seven starts (34 innings). The numbers mostly hold up; the right-hander's 4.16 xFIP closely trailed his ERA and his 24.6 K% was in line with his minor-league rate. Though Dunning doesn't possess a dominant fastball, he mixes up four pitches well, which helped him generate a satisfactory 11.4 SwStr% last season. His 9.2 BB% needs to come down and the .239 BABIP is unsustainable, but Dunning's feel for pitching provides him a moderate floor. He should fill a mid-rotation spot for Texas, who parted with Lance Lynn to land Dunning in an offseason trade.

Dunning was shut down in late June with a right elbow strain, but was back for instructional league, so he appears to have avoided Tommy John surgery, for now. Prior to the injury, he was cruising in his first taste of Double-A, with a 2.40 FIP, 26.3 K% and a groundball rate just a hair under 50%. That success oversells his stuff to some degree. He has a legitimate four-pitch mix, but lacks a the type of electric arsenal we would typically associate with a pitcher who has struck out more than 10 batters per nine at every full-season stop (which he has done). His low-90s sinker is effective, and his slider can flash plus, but with just fringe-average command, it's the type of repertoire typically found in a No. 4 starter. Already 24 years old and without a significantly high ceiling, Dunning does not need to be universally rostered in dynasty leagues, particularly with last year's elbow injury portending the eventual need for some sort of procedure.

The third returning piece for Chicago in the Adam Eaton trade, Dunning was unproven heading into 2017, but he quickly established himself as a future rotation piece. He has a solid four-pitch mix, and could end up with anywhere from three to zero plus pitches. His ability to sequence and locate his offerings allowed him to dominate hitters at High-A. Dunning ranked third in the Carolina League in strikeout rate (26.4 percent) and K-BB (19.4 percent). Double-A should present a valuable challenge, as his repertoire may not lead to the same gaudy strikeout totals against more advanced hitters. Entering his age-23 season, there won't be much margin for error in the minds of dynasty-league owners, as most of his contemporaries are already at Triple-A or knocking on the door of the big leagues. If he continues to command his mid-90s sinking fastball and his slider and curveball continue to miss bats, a future No. 3 starter could quickly come into focus.

On a loaded pitching staff at the University of Florida last season, Dunning got somewhat overlooked, but he showed enough upside for the Nationals to nab him with the 29th overall pick in the draft. A 6-foot-4 right-hander, his success on the mound comes more from the deception inherent in his mechanics and killer changeup than it does from an overpowering fastball, but that arsenal allowed him to make a solid pro debut between the GCL and short-season Low-A. Whether he's able to become a reliable starting pitcher in the majors depends on the development of his breaking pitch, a slurvy offering which at this point lags well behind his low 90s fastball and change, but his college experience out of the bullpen will serve him well if that ends up being his ultimate role. Traded to the White Sox in the Adam Eaton deal, the 21-year-old is still a few years away from being a factor for Chicago, so he's get plenty of time and plenty of chances to work on that breaking pitch before his role is finalized.