Maryland baseball’s Nick Dunn selected in 5th round of MLB Draft by St. Louis Cardinals

Maryland second baseman Nick Dunn was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 MLB Draft Tuesday by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Dunn was a model of consistency during his three seasons in College Park. He started in all 172 games Maryland played. He had over 30 runs scored and 30 RBIs in each year. Dunn drew a free pass (walks and hit by pitch) more often than he struck out in all three seasons as a Terp.

Dunn’s career numbers are solid—a .295 batting average, 202 hits, 46 doubles, 15 home runs, 118 runs scored, and 102 RBIs. This past season was his best, as Dunn sported a .330 average with 10 home runs and an OPS approaching 1.000. He led the Terps in virtually every offensive category. This performance was noticed nationally, as Dunn was a First Team All-Big Ten and a Second Team Baseball America All-American selection. In his rookie year, Dunn was a Freshman All-American as well as a Big Ten All-Freshman honoree.

Dunn was the consummate batter, always making contact. It didn’t matter if he had two strikes on him; he’d foul off good pitches until he either walked or got a pitch that he could drive to the outfield gaps. Dunn displayed the ability to hit shots to all fields. In 2018, he had a bit more pop in his bat, as his 10 home runs were more than his previous two seasons combined.

The only question mark about Dunn’s play was his fielding. After committing 10 and 14 errors in 2016 and 2017, respectively, Dunn reduced this to only five errors this year, while making a number of stellar plays as well. Thus, it’s quite possible that Dunn will remain at second base in the Cardinals organization, rather than switched to left field.

Dunn has until July 13 to sign with St. Louis and officially begin his professional career.