Saugatuck's Dunn Makes MLB Debut, OLSM's Mooney Continues Impressive Climb
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
August 5, 2024
Blake Dunn has realized his dream while Alex Mooney's chance may be right around the corner.
The careers of the two former Michigan high school baseball stars have taken major steps forward this summer, with Dunn, a Saugatuck graduate native, earning two stints with the Cincinnati Reds, and Mooney, from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, tearing up the High-Class A Midwest League with Lake County, just northeast of Cleveland.
Both credit modest upbringings for their continuing baseball success. Dunn said his senior class included around 85 students.
"It was definitely hard because a lot of guys have played against a high level of competition from bigger schools," said Dunn, who earned 16 varsity letters across four high school sports at Saugatuck. "But a lot of good athletes come from smaller schools, and we have kind of a chip on our shoulders. That's no knock on smaller schools or their communities; we just work that much harder to make things happen.
"You can't just sit back and go with the flow. You work hard, set your mind on what you need to do and just go for it. I definitely take pride in where I come from and represent Saugatuck to the best of my ability or when I'm out in public."
Mooney, who was part of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s winning three MHSAA Finals titles over six years, said he traces much of his success to being part of an outstanding prep baseball program, regardless of the school's size. St. Mary's was an all-boys school during his time there, with just under 600 students.
"Playing in the Catholic League was huge for me," he said. "It's the best league in the state, and playing there just made me better. I learned early how to win, and that's carried over (to the pros)."
Dunn was one of the great all-around athletes of his generation at Saugatuck. He had more than 1,500 career points in basketball, was a four-time hurdles Finals champion in track and a member of the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Dream Team, and still finds himself all over the MHSAA football record book. His 113 career touchdowns are fourth all-time while his 2,748 rushing yards in 2015 are 12th best. Dunn's 827 points in 41 career games is second all-time to 924 points by East Grand Rapids' Kevin Grady in 51 games from 2001-04. Dunn's 6,954 rushing yards remains eighth all-time.
Dunn, who also had 26 consecutive 100-yard rushing games, said it seemed natural to him to play multiple sports in high school.
"I think it's the right thing for guys to test their ability to do a lot of things," he said. "It comes down to task management. You don't get a lot of free time because it's always go-go. So you need a good work ethic to stay on top of things."
Dunn and Mooney are in the midst of notable summers. Slowed by the injury bug dating all the way back to high school and then Western Michigan, Dunn developed into a bona fide prospect in the Reds system a year ago when he hit .312 with 23 homers and 79 RBIs at Double-A Chattanooga and Low-A Dayton.
Statistically, Dunn is batting .226 with six homers and 28 RBIs in Triple-A this season, but earned a 10-day stint with the Reds from June 4-13 and then again from July 3-10. He collected his first major league hit against the Cubs on June 7.
A shortstop, Mooney has hit wherever he's been. He batted .444 as a sophomore and .460 with nine homers and 57 RBIs as a senior at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, then hit .305 with 113 runs, 30 doubles, 11 homers and 33 stolen bases (in 39 attempts) in 117 career games at Duke. With the Lake County Captains this season, Mooney is tops in the Midwest League in runs (65), third in stolen bases (34), tied for 14th in home runs (10) and tied for 16th in RBIs (46).
Mooney said hitting has always been his calling card.
"I feel like I've been able to hit since I was around 8 years old," he said. "My dad coached me when I was young, and I still talk to him about it when I go home. Hitting gets significantly harder, but your mindset is that you learn to flush a bad day. I learned at Orchard Lake St. Mary that you're still a good hitter if you go 0-for-4. You just get on with it."
Mooney, the state's Mr. Baseball Award winner in 2021 and two-time MHSBCA Dream Team member, was ranked among the top five shortstops nationally out of high school by Perfect Game and Under Armour. He went on to become all-Atlantic Coast Conference at Duke before being drafted in the seventh round by Cleveland in 2021.
Among the lessons he's learned in the professional ranks is that baseball is a business.
"It's a job. A darn good one, but a job," he said. "But I also know that the worst day you could have in baseball is better than the best day in another field. Baseball is a grind, though."
Dunn has battled his share of the grind since becoming a 15th-round draft choice by the Reds in 2021. He hit .333 with 11 homers, 50 stolen bases and 78 RBIs in135 games at Western Michigan. Injuries plagued him as a Bronco, then limited him to just 48 games in his first two years in the Reds system. This year he missed time with facial lacerations after getting hit with a pitch.
No matter the difficulties, Dunn said he always believed he could become a major leaguer. The size of high schools and subsequent level of competition was never a consideration.
"I've never considered myself an underachiever, and in my mind it doesn't matter where I've been,” he said. "I know I have talent, and I've worked hard. I feel like I have a lot of years left in baseball."
Dunn and Mooney are just two of several former Michigan high school ballplayers making a mark in the minor leagues, including two members of arguably the best-ever MHSBCA Dream Team pitching staff in 2016. Tommy Henry (Portage Northern) and Karl Kauffman (Brother Rice) have combined to pitch in 46 MLB games with Arizona and Colorado, respectively, the last two seasons. Henry is 2-3 in nine games with the Diamondbacks this season. The other members of the 2016 Dream Team pitchers were Jack Weisenburger (Rockford) and Mike Mokma (Holland Christian), both of whom pitched professionally, and John Baker (Hartland), who went on to become a two-time all-Mid-American Conference pitcher at Ball State and a 29th-round pick of the Marlins in 2019.
Baker outdueled Henry in the 2016 Division 1 Final.
Another former Michigan high school baseball star has been a godsend to a depleted Atlanta Braves pitching staff. Spencer Schwellenbach (Saginaw Heritage), has gone 4-5 with a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts with the Braves. He was the 2018 Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year who went 18-6 with a 0.73 ERA at Nebraska before being taken by the Braves in the second round of the 2021 draft.
Among the other former prep stars busy in the minors are Sam Weatherly (Howell) and Brock Porter (Orchard Lake St. Mary). Weatherly is 3-1 with a 2.85 ERA in 30 games with the High-A Fresno Grizzlies. He was a 27th-round pick by the Rockies in 2020 after going 4-0 with 106 strikeouts over 72 innings in three years at Clemson.
Porter, the state's Mr. Baseball in 2022, is 0-4 with a 6.98 ERA in 19 1/3 combined innings in Rookie League and High-A. A fourth-round pick by the Rangers in 2022, Porter started 21 games with 95 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings during his first pro season a year ago at the Rookie League level.
Other Michigan natives in the minors include Luke Russo (Howell), who is 5-3 with a 4.81 ERA at High-A Jersey Shore, and Andrew Taylor (Caledonia), who is 1-1 with a 5.27 ERA at High-A Asheville.
PHOTOS (Top) From left, former Orchard Lake St. Mary’s star Alex Mooney and Saugatuck standout Blake Dunn are succeeding in minor league baseball as they pursue Major League careers. (Middle) Dunn stands in for a pitch playing for the Louisville Bats this season. (Below) Mooney prepares to field a grounder for the Lake County Captains. (Photos courtesy of the Lake County Captains and Louisville Bats; top Dunn photo by Cam Anderson and middle by Anna Rouch.)
Homer, Liggett Set Up Saturday Meeting
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
June 14, 2019
EAST LANSING – Jacob Wilson just wanted to start jumping up and down Friday after his game-winning single sent Homer to the MHSAA Division 3 Baseball Final.
But before he could fully celebrate, he had to make it to first base, something he admitted he had to be reminded to do.
“The coach told me to (run to first),” Wilson said.
He made it without issue and was mobbed by his teammates as Homer defeated Pewamo-Westphalia 2-1 in nine innings at McLane Baseball Stadium on the campus of Michigan State University. The Trojans advanced to Saturday’s Final against Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett, which defeated Gladstone 5-0 in the other Semifinal.
“What an unbelievable setting, and to have a 2-1 walkoff in the bottom of the ninth at Michigan State, that’s stuff you dream of at the beginning of the season,” Homer coach Scott Salow said. “It was an unbelievable ballgame. Two great teams.”
Wilson’s hit down the third-base line ended a game dominated by pitching and defense, as he and Pewamo-Westphalia starter Brendan Thelen kept hitters off balance for the majority.
In the ninth inning, however, Homer was able to load the bases with no outs, and Wilson drove in Zach Butters for the walk-off win.
“I was up to bat and I was looking at my teammates while they were on base, and they were just looking at me smiling, giving me a thumbs up,” Wilson said. “I just had faith in myself that I could get it down.”
Butters’ run was the first since the second inning, and ended one of the few Homer threats. Thelen threw 7 2/3 innings prior to reaching his pitch-count maximum, striking out five and allowing three walks, two hits and one run. He allowed just one Homer runner to get to third base.
“Their coach, Scott Salow, has a great program, and he said that’s the best pitcher they’ve seen all year,” Pewamo-Westphalia coach Mark Rademacher said. “They only got two hits on him, and he said that’s the best pitcher they’ve seen. Brendan rose up to the occasion. He kept us in the game when we were leaving guys stranded on base, and our defense was helping him out. It was just a great performance on his part.”
Wilson put together a gem of his own, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out five in 6 2/3 innings, also leaving the game because of his pitch count. He pitched out of a jam in the sixth inning, as Pewamo-Westphalia had a runner at third with one out. Wilson was able to get a strikeout and a popout to end the threat.
“Just survive,” Salow said of Wilson. “I don’t know how many chances they had with leadoff guys on. It seemed like we were fighting fires most of the game, especially in the middle innings.”
Pewamo-Westphalia opened the scoring in the second inning, as Aaron Bearss drove in Ethan Thelen with a single.
Homer responded in the bottom of the second, as Kyle Compton stole home on a designed play. Wilson, who was on first, purposefully fell on a steal attempt, forcing a throw to first and allowing Compton to head home.
“We spend a lot of time on our first-and-third offense, trying to put balls in play without the aid of a bat,” Salow said. “It’s a play that we practice all the time, and it worked out almost to perfection.”
Compton finished with two hits and two walks for Homer (32-3). Butters picked up the win in relief, striking out one and allowing two hits in 2 1/3 innings.
Tanner Wirth and Ethan Thelen each had two hits for the Pirates (31-3).
Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett 5, Gladstone 0
Alec Azar had all the run support he needed before he stepped on the mound.
The Liggett senior pitcher threw his first pitch with a 2-0 lead, which was more than enough as he put together a dominant outing to lead the Knights into the Division 3 Final, their first since 2016.
“That’s what I like about being away,” Azar said. “You get ahead, and then I can come out on the mound and get really comfortable and throw my game.”
Azar carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finished the game with 12 strikeouts and two hits allowed.
“He was lights out,” Liggett coach Dan Cimini said. “I told him this was going to be his last start as a senior at Liggett and I need his best, and he gave us his best. He almost had a no-hitter, threw the ball really well, had his best stuff, great slider, fastball. He just did everything he could for our team today to get us a W.”
Logan King hit a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the first inning, which Gladstone coach Kelly Shea said stunned his team. The Braves remained stunned as Azar struck out the first four batters he faced.
“Our pitcher got them with two ground balls to start the first inning, and I thought we’re going to get out of the inning,” Shea said. “Then they had a kind of so-so base hit, then he hangs that next pitch and they pounded it over the fence. It kind of took the wind out of our sails, and we never got back.”
Azar added two hits at the plate, while Nick Post had two hits, including an RBI double for the Knights. King finished with three RBI on the day.
Carson Shea, who started on the mound for Gladstone, broke up Azar’s no-hitter with two outs in the sixth inning. Jared Crow added a double for the Braves in the seventh.
PHOTOS: (Top) Homer’s Zach Butters heads home for the game-winning run in Friday’s first Semifinal against Pewamo-Westphalia. (Middle) Liggett's Alec Azar makes his move toward the plate.