Dunning is the 244th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Waterloo Buck Dane Dunning, made his Major League debut for the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. Dunning is the 244th former Northwoods League player to reach the Major League level.
Dunning, who played collegiately at the University of Florida, played for the Waterloo Bucks in 2014. He was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 1st round, 29th overall, of the 2016 MLB draft.
During the 2014 season with the Bucks, Dunning appeared in seven games and was 3-3 with a 3.14 ERA. He struck out 39 batters in 43 innings.
Dunning began his professional career in 2016 with Nationals rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League. After one game he moved up to the Auburn Doubledays of the Short-Season A New York-Penn League. Between the two clubs he was 3-2 with a 2.02 ERA. He struck out 32 batters in 35.2 innings and walked seven.
Prior to the 2017 season Dunning was traded to the White Sox alongside Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez for Adam Eaton. During the 2017 season Dunning started with the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Lo-A South Atlantic League. After four games he moved up to the Winston-Salem Dash of the Hi-A Carolina League. Over 26 games he was a combined 8-8 with a 2.94 ERA. He struck out 168 batters in 144 innings and had a 1.146 WHIP.
In 2018 Dunning started the season with the Dash and was then promoted to the Birmingham Barons of the AA Southern League. He pitched in 15 games for the season and was 6-3 with a 2.71 ERA. He struck out 100 batters in 86.1 innings and walked 26.
After suffering a torn ulnar collateral ligament, Dunning underwent Tommy John Surgery on March 18, 2019. The injury forced him to miss the entire 2019 season. Following the season Dunning was added to the White Sox 40–man roster.
Dunning was placed in the White Sox 60-man player pool for the 2020 season and had his contract purchased on August 19. In his Major League debut against the Tigers, Dunning started the game and pitched 4.1 innings. He allowed three runs on five hits while striking out seven.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Now in its’ 27th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 22 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, over 240 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and MLB All-Star Jordan Zimmermann (DET). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.