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Dunn hits it high and lets it fly

Sporting News, The, March 11, 2002 by Ken Rosenthal

Adam Dunn is bouncing through the Reds' spring training clubhouse in Sarasota, Fla., trying to assemble teammates for a round of batting practice the day before the team's first official workout.

Sean Casey volunteers, and Dunn, 22, practically bursts with youthful enthusiasm, giddy that he will be hitting outdoors instead of in a batting cage. "That's what I'm talking about," he says. "Hit it high, and let it fly."

That's what everyone is talking about with Dunn, the most exciting young power hitter to enter the game in years. But impressive as Dunn was pounding a combined 51 homers at three levels last season, he produced another statistic that was nearly as revealing: 100 walks. For the second straight year.

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"He is a big, strong athlete who has a great mental capacity for the game of baseball," Reds farm director Tim Naehring says. "He realizes how to be a good hitter. It's very unique, especially when you tie power into that equation."

Dunn, a lefthanded-hitting outfielder, is emerging at a time when teams are finding it increasingly difficult to develop power hitters. College sluggers who thrive on aluminum bats often struggle to make the transition to wood. High school sluggers are considered outright gambles.

Many drafts feature only one can't-miss power prospect--say, Pat Burrell in 1998 or Mark Teixeira in 2001. Several of today's top sluggers, including Jason Giambi and Shawn Green, needed time to develop their power, gaining strength and hitting knowledge in the minors.

Dunn, then, is a freak, and not simply because he's a 6-6, 240-pound behemoth with speed. Three years after graduating from New Caney (Texas) High School, he set a National League rookie record for most home runs in one month, hitting 12 last August, his first full month in the majors.

Impressive stuff, considering that Dunn didn't commit to baseball full time until the spring of '99. A top quarterback in high school, he accepted a football scholarship to Texas. If he had focused solely on baseball, he likely would have been a top 10 pick rather than a second-rounder. Yet even with his limited background, he posted on-base percentages above .400 at each of his five minor league stops, and .371 in his 66-game debut with the Reds.

Dunn, the second of three sons, credits his father, Skip, with helping him develop plate discipline. "In high school, I would get real frustrated--I'd walk four times a game," Dunn says. "The next game, if they walked me the first time, I'd go up there and swing at anything just so I wouldn't walk. My dad said, `You can't score runs if no one's on base.'"

Dunn's high school coach even batted him leadoff, trying to force opponents to throw him more strikes. Johnny Almaraz, the scout who signed Dunn, couldn't help but notice Dunn's patience. "He walked tons of times," says Almaraz, now the Reds' assistant director of scouting. "He would just stand there and wait to get his pitch."

Dunn draws raves not only for his selectivity but his ability to hit to the opposite field. "That's the sign of a good hitter--the ability to take the ball down and away and go the other way," says Twins reliever Mike Jackson, who faced Dunn as a member of the Astros. "I think he's going to be a monster."

Dunn resembles a lefthanded Mark McGwire (he's listed as an inch taller and 10 pounds lighter than McGwire was listed in his final season). Dunn's short, compact swing enables him to wait longer on pitches, yet he still generates fearsome power. "He doesn't have to commit sooner and rush to the ball," Reds hitting coach Jim Lefebvre says. "That allows him to be more selective."

Naehring raves about Dunn's willingness to adjust. Pitchers who once succeeded in jamming him now risk getting taken out of the park if they throw him inside fastballs. Dunn's path to stardom, however, isn't simply attributable to his physical tools and splendid mechanics. Ask anyone associated with the Reds: He's a great kid.

Dunn is engaging off the field, closer in temperament to Casey, who is nicknamed "The Mayor," than the Reds' biggest star, Ken Grouchy Jr.

People around the Reds say that Dunn suppressed his natural gregariousness after joining the club last season, trying to fit in with his new teammates. He's showing more of his personality this spring, even displaying a self-deprecating wit.

When did his power develop?

"Last year," Dunn says, joking.

What part of his game does he need to improve?

"Everyone knows that defensively, I'm not tricking anybody," he says, referring to his play in left field. OK, Adam, serious question. What about all those projections that you'll hit 50 homers?

"My answer to that is simple," Dunn says. "The easy part is done. The talking is done. Now I've got to go out there and do it."

Dunn strikes out a lot (156 times last season), but if he keeps his on-base percentage high, no one will care. It's unfair to compare any young hitter to Barry Bonds, but Dunn has the same foundation of patience and power. He also will benefit from the Reds' move next season to Great America Ballpark, a park designed to favor lefthanded hitters.

Dunn hits it high and lets it fly

Sporting News, The, March 11, 2002 by Ken Rosenthal

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