Who is Blake Dunn? Outfielder's clutch two-run double lifts Reds past Giants
Blake Dunn's third hit of the 2025 Major League Baseball season and seventh of his big-league career was a big one, a two-run double in the 8th inning of the Cincinnati Reds' series opener Monday night against the Giants in San Francisco.
Dunn's double broke a scoreless tie, giving the Reds and starter Hunter Greene a 2-0 lead.
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Dunn collected his first Major League hit during a 3-2 win against the Chicago Cubs at Great American Ball Park last June. Dunn doubled on a sharp line drive to left field in the bottom of the 5th inning. It was his only hit in his first 20 big-league plate appearances.
The Reds' Blake Dunn
Dunn, named the team's Minor League Player of the Year for 2023, became the first Red since Vada Pinson in 1958 to score a run in each of his first four career games.
The Reds promoted Dunn from High-A Dayton to Double-A Chattanooga in June 2023. In 357 plate appearances with the Lookouts, Dunn hit .332 with 15 home runs, 52 RBIs, 35 stolen bases and an OPS of .989, earning him the 2023 Southern League batting title.
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Adding his stats with the Dragons earlier that season, he was in rare company with 23 HRs and 54 SBs, becoming one of only five players in the past 30 years with 20-50 seasons in the minors. Andruw Jones achieved the feat in 1995 and '96; Anthony Volpe in 2022; and Dunn, Ryan Bliss and Jonatan Clase last season.
What to know about Dunn:
The Reds selected Dunn in the 15th round (450th overall) of the 2021 draft.
Dunn has been a pleasant surprise in a 2021 draft class for the Reds that included Matt McLain and Andrew Abbott.
In four seasons at Western Michigan, Dunn hit .331 with 11 homers and 50 stolen bases. Multiple teams expressed interest in Dunn after the five-round 2020 draft, but didn't offer enough money for him to leave WMU early.
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The Reds drafted Dunn's Western Michigan teammate, pitcher Easton Sikorski, in the 17th round one year later. Sikorski has posted a 3.41 ERA in 17 appearances this season at Low-A Daytona.
Dunn's first professional homer came August 15, 2021, for the Tortugas. It was a 434-foot grand slam to straightaway center.
Dunn was a four-sport star at Saugatuck High School.
In addition to batting .573 with 34 RBIs and posting a 0.61 ERA in 11 pitching appearances as a junior, Dunn played four years of football, four years of basketball and was a three-time state champion who set MHSAA Div. IV records in the 110-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles.
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In football, Dunn finished second in career scoring (824) in Michigan High School football history. In 2016, he played quarterback, defensive back, kicker, punter and returner. He was 36-of-55 for 654 yards, with 10 touchdowns and one interception, while rushing for 1,689 yards on 108 carries with 31 TDs on the ground. He averaged more than 50 yards per kick return and 34 yards per punt return. He also had 49 tackles and six INTs.
In basketball, Dunn broke the Saugatuck Public Schools record for most points scored in a HS career (1,541).
Dunn's father, Bill, was his football coach, and Saugatuck's athletic director.
Blake's younger brother, Brad, was one of Blake's receivers. Brad, also a four-sport star at Saugatuck, played baseball at Grand Rapids Community College and in a pair of summer leagues.
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Prep Baseball Report's Dave Sontag wrote in 2016 about Dunn competing in track and baseball on the same day as a freshman.
"I started off playing baseball that day and singled in my first at bat," Dunn said. "I then changed into my track uniform and won three straight events. ... I went back to the baseball field and hit a home run in my next at-bat."
Dunn will turn 27 years old on Sept. 5.
Dunn shares a birthday with Reds on Radio color analyst Jeff Brantley, and National Baseball Hall of Famers Bill Mazeroski and Nap Lajoie.
MLB Pipeline's profile about Dunn said his energy and makeup "remind some in the organization of a right-handed version of TJ Friedl."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Blake Dunn, Reds OF, hits two-run double to beat Giants
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