Dunham flashing in Double-A with speed, well-rounded game
BRIDGEWATER » When a baseball player produces high stolen base totals, the common assumption is that they have elite speed and have always been one of the fastest guys on their teams since Little League.
Elijah Dunham is quick to insist that he doesn’t fall into either of those categories.
“When I was little, I was not a good athlete,” the Somerset Patriots outfielder said Tuesday. “I was definitely heavy, and so my dad sent me to these speed classes growing up. Basically ‘fat camp,’ lose weight stuff. It wasn’t ‘fat camp’ but it was just some speed and agility stuff, and it kind of slimmed me down from there and that was kind of the foundation to help me stay athletic.”
The Evansville, Indiana native is now one of the top base runners in the Yankees’ minor league system, which is a big reason why MLB Pipeline ranks him as the organization’s 27th-best prospect.
Dunham started playing in the system last year after signing as a free agent out of Indiana University in 2020. That was an unusual MLB Draft — shortened from 40 rounds to five because of the pandemic — so Dunham gambled on a chance in the pros rather than return to school.
That decision, in his mind, has been validated because of what he is learning from Yankees coaches, especially baserunning coordinator Matt Talarico.
“I think just learning different things in the game, different timing with my footwork, it just opened up a new realm for that that I wouldn’t have been getting in college,” Dunham said. “And definitely the overall pitching is better obviously in Double-A than college, so I think just seeing that every day and just making adjustments to that is just obviously gonna help me getting up (promoted) quicker instead of staying a year in college.”
Dunham, who turns 24 on May 29, has swiped seven bases in 22 games during his first Double-A season. He has 35 stolen bases in 42 attempts overall in 115 games with Somerset, High-A Hudson Valley and Low-A Tampa since last season. And he went 11-for12 during the Arizona Fall League last year.
That the Yankees even sent Dunham to the prestigious AFL spoke volumes, but he really opened eyes with his performance. He was named the league’s Breakout Player of the Year after mashing .357 with 11 extra-base hits in 23 games.
“He’s every bit of an everyday big-league player,” Somerset manager Dan Fiorito said. “The bat-toball skills he has, power, can go get the ball in the outfield with a strong arm, he’s great at stealing bases — he’s a dynamic player. He’s a special player that kind of blew up last year and made a name for himself in the industry.”
After not being much of a base runner in college, Dunham says the key to incorporating it into his game in the pros is learning to read pitchers and catchers. The speed has generally always been there, but he prides himself on the technical aspect because he admits he isn’t quite as fast as teammate Brandon Lockridge — above average but not elite.
With the Yankees on pace to finish top-10 in stolen bases for the first time since 2014, Dunham could soon contribute to a bigleague club whose Achilles’ heel in recent playoff runs was partially attributable to having stationary offenses.
“At least when I’ve been here, a huge emphasis is our baserunning because we know it creates runs. It creates getting in better
situations for the hitter. When there’s a runner on third and less than two outs, your hitters are way more confident than if he’s still at first,” Dunham said. “It’s definitely been valued the years I’ve been here, and I think the org is definitely implementing with every single person how they can increase their athleticism and their speed.”
Pairing that with pop at the plate is crucial, and scouts believe Dunham has the potential to produce 20-plus home runs on an annual basis.
Dunham entered this week’s series against Reading with a .202 average and only eight extra-base hits (three homers) in 98 plate appearances. He feels those results are a combination of poor luck on balls in play and striking out too often (25.5 percent rate) as he emphasizes hitting more fly balls to his pull side while adjusting to Double-A pitching.
Dunham breaks down iPad film of his left-handed swing between games.
“I’m not really looking at my actual swing, because at this
point in the season, there’s minor things you can do, but the majority of the time, this is gonna be your same swing throughout the whole year,” Dunham said. “So mainly I’m just looking at my swing decisions: Was I on time? Where was my body at when the pitcher was making his move home? Just those little minor things that I can make adjustments throughout the season in order to be successful.”
The ultimate goal is to be as well-rounded of a player and possible with speed, contact, power and quality fielding to carve a niche in the organization.
“We’re in such now a time with baseball where it’s so one-dimensional now. It’s like alright, you’re either being the power guy or you’re being the on-base, slap guy. There’s no in between,” Dunham said. “Maybe one day when I’m moving up in my career I might have to go to one of those, but right now I’m just trying to be the best player I can be. And for me it’s just being an all-around player. That helps the team win, that’s gonna help my career at this stage.”