Promising Phillies Prospect Off to Historic Start in Arizona Fall League

Through the first two weeks of the Arizona Fall League, Phillies prospect Oliver Dunn has greatly impressed. He is one of eight Phillies prospects playing in the Fall League.

Jack Vita | Oct 15, 2023

Promising Phillies Prospect Off to Historic Start in Arizona Fall League /

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Philadelphia Phillies

Two weeks into the Arizona Fall League, one Philadelphia Phillies prospect has set himself apart from the rest of his peers.

Infield prospect Oliver Dunn ranks in the top-five in the Arizona Fall League in Batting Average (.435), On Base Percentage (.519), Slugging Percentage (.739) and OPS (1.258).

Dunn stayed hot on Saturday, going 1-for-3 with a walk in the Scottsdale Scorpions' 3-1 victory over the Peoria Javelinas, in the second game of the Arizona Fall League Tripleheader at Goodyear Ballpark.

Dunn was selected by the New York Yankees in the 11th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of the University of Utah.

Dunn, now 26 years-old, spent four years in the Yankees' farm system, but was not protected from the Rule 5 Draft last December. With the final pick of the Minor League Rule 5 Draft, the Phillies added Dunn to their roster.

In his first year in the Phillies' system, Dunn excelled, slashing .271/.396/.902 with 21 home runs and 78 RBI in 119 games with Double-A Reading. Despite his strong showing in 2023, MLB Pipeline does not have Dunn ranked among their top-30 prospects.

A player doesn't necessarily need to be a top-30 prospect in order to make it in the big leagues. Houston Astros starting pitcher JP France logged an 11-6 record and 3.83 ERA over 136.1 IP, 23 starts and one relief appearance in his rookie campaign in 2023. France, a 28 year-old rookie, was never listed as a top-30 prospect by MLB Pipeline throughout his time in the minor leagues. France could be a finalist for the American League Rookie of the Year Award later this fall.

As an off-the-radar, older prospect now playing in the Fall League, Dunn continues to build off the success he enjoyed throughout the regular season. Dunn might be a sleeper prospect, who could have a chance to make a difference at the Major League level next summer.

Dunn is one of eight Phillies prospects playing in the Fall League. Three other Phillies prospects saw playing time in Saturday's game.

The Phillies' no. 9 prospect, Gabriel Rincones Jr. went 0-for-3 Saturday while playing right field. Rincones has a .294 BA and .915 OPS through nine games in the Fall League.

Infield prospect Matt Kroon enjoyed a two-hit day, going 2-for-3 with two RBI, while manning third base.

Catching prospect Caleb Ricketts had a pinch-hit single, taking over for Israel Pineda in the top of the sixth inning. Ricketts went 1-for-1 on the day.

The Scorpions will have Sunday off, before hosting the Salt River Rafters at Scottsdale Stadium Monday night.

Published Oct 15, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.