Former Phillies breakout player hits first MLB home run, but for another team

Cracking the roster in the Philadelphia Phillies organization is challenging because of their stacked lineup. Sometimes, it's hard for players even to make it onto the 40-man roster, let alone the 26-man big league roster. As a result, some former Phillies players end up finding success after moving on from the organization.

That's the case for former Phillies minor leaguer and Arizona Fall League breakout star Oliver Dunn. Dunn joined the Phillies organization for the 2023 season after he was claimed from the New York Yankees in the Rule 5 Draft back in 2022.

The third baseman spent all of last year with the Phillies’ Double-A affiliate Reading Fightin Phils, where he put together by far the best professional baseball season of his career. He posted a .271 average and a .902 OPS, along with 65 runs scored, 27 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 78 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 119 games played. 

He followed up that success with an astounding performance in the Arizona Fall League, where he compiled a stellar .343/.455/.616 slash line, with 17 runs scored, six doubles, four triples, two home runs, 11 RBI. He was also a perfect 12-for-12 in stolen bases in just 19 games.

Thanks to his big performance, Dunn was named the AFL Breakout Player of the Year. However, with the possibility of losing the 26-year-old for nothing in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, the Phillies opted instead to trade him to the Milwaukee Brewers for prospects Hendry Mendez and Robert Moore.

After a strong spring showing, Dunn made the Brewers’ Opening Day roster and hasn’t looked back since. Last week, he hit his first-ever major league home run against the Seattle Mariners to help lift his team to a 6-5 victory.

On the season, Dunn is hitting .250 with a .721 OPS, three runs scored, a triple, one home run, four RBI and a pair of stolen bases in nine games while hitting in various spots in the Brewers lineup.

It's great to see Dunn finally finding some success at the big league level after his development in the Phillies organization last year. We just hope that he is grateful for the opportunity that the Phillies gave him in 2023 and doesn’t end up doing too much damage against them when they meet the Brewers in the near future.