Dane Dunning

Dunning began the 2024 season in the rotation, but was 4-6 with a 4.73 ERA after 12 starts and was pushed to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. Dunning got his strikeouts as a starter (26.7 percent rate) but a 15.1 percent K-BB percentage and a 1.7 HR/9 did him in. He also had a .206 average against and a 1.25 WHIP in that time, but struggled mightily to keep runners from scoring due to the homers. The move to the pen did not improve anything, as the homers continued, but his strikeouts declined and the league hit .331 against him out of the pen. Dunning, like Chris Bassitt, hasn't met a pitch he doesn't like to throw, as he threw seven different offerings last season in an effort to find something that worked. The problem is nothing worked too well long-term, and the league pounced on the mistakes. As bad as 2024 was, he still had a good 2023, but Dunning's true talent level is as a back-end starter, and for 2023 to happen again, everything has to go his way. That is simply asking too much of someone with his below-average stuff.