Texas Rangers: Dane Dunning got some Pitching Ninja love in NYY outing

It’s been a rough couple of days for the Texas Rangers, and that’s probably an understatement.

The team got no-hit by none other than Corey Kluber during his return to Globe Life Field, and then failed to score a run the following afternoon against the likes of Domingo German, Chad Green, and Aroldis Chapman. The Rangers haven’t scored a run in 22 consecutive innings, and they’ve now lost three series in a row.

One of the few bright spots this past week, however, was the performance that blossoming right-handed starter Dane Dunning turned in against the offense-heavy Yankees lineup. Dunning went 6.0 scoreless innings, striking out six and only allowing four hits on the afternoon.

The Rangers bullpen was unable to hold the Yankees at bay following Dunning’s scheduled departure (he’s still being ramped up to go deeper into games at the moment), but it was a very productive outing for Dunning nevertheless.

An outing that popular “Baseball Twitter” voice Rob Friedman didn’t let go unnoticed:

If you’re somehow not already familiar with “@PitchingNinja” on Twitter, you need to go toss the man a follow ASAP. He does a fantastic job highlighting the art of pitching across all levels of the game, really bringing a sense of further appreciation to the sport of baseball. Friedman isn’t shy when it comes to posting Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker highlights either, for those of you who are already locked in on the looming 2021 MLB Draft.

Texas Rangers RHP Dane Dunning was solid against NYY on Thursday.

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Getting back to Dunning, he’s been solid in his debut season for the Texas Rangers thus far. His ERA is down to 3.74 following today’s impressive start against New York, and he’s already recorded 48 strikeouts in just 43.1 innings of work this season. His WHIP could use some work (it’s currently at a 1.34), but that’s something that will hopefully come over time for the young righty.

Dunning was acquired after the 2020 season in exchange for Lance Lynn, a move that’s worked out well for both teams thus far. Lynn has helped the White Sox jump out to a sizable lead in the AL Central, and Dunning projects to be a rotation arm for the Rangers for multiple years moving forward.

Pitching depth remains the Rangers biggest organizational weak point at the moment – having Dunning to build around is at least a starting point. Add in someone like Leiter or Rocker during this year’s MLB Draft, and you could be looking at the early stages of an above average starting rotation.

After a hot start to the season, the Rangers have drastically cooled off in recent weeks. However, strong performances like the one we saw today from Dunning are definitely worth getting excited about. As much as we all want to see the team win now, continuing to see some of the younger pieces develop this season is ultimately what’s most important in 2021.