KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Cincinnati Reds organization announced on Tuesday afternoon that it is calling up former Western Michigan outfielder Blake Dunn. Dunn is in Cincinnati's starting lineup on Tuesday night, batting eighth and playing left field as the Reds continue a series at the Colorado Rockies.
 
A 15th round pick of the Reds in 2021, Dunn becomes the 35th former Bronco to reach the Major Leagues, and first to do so since Keegan Akin in 2020.
 
After being limited by injuries during his first two professional seasons, Dunn burst onto the scene in 2023, hitting a combined .312 with a .425 on-base percentage, 79 RBIs and 107 runs scored between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga in the Cincinnati organization. Along the way, he was named the Cincinnati Reds Minor League Player of the Year, selected to MLB Pipeline's First Team Prospect Team of the Year, Baseball America's Minor League All-Star Second Team and a Southern League All-Star.                                                                                                   
Prior to the season, he rose to No. 11 in MLB Pipeline's ranking of Cincinnati's top prospects, and opened the year at Triple-A Louisville. Dunn scored 29 runs, launched four home runs and drove in 22 while picking up nine steals in 44 games for the Bats prior to his promotion.
 
Dunn was a career .333 hitter in his four seasons at Western Michigan. As a sophomore, he hit .374 and stole 30 bases on the way to a First Team All-MAC selection. Prior to the 2020 season, he became the first player in program history to be named to the Golden Spikes Award Watch List. After the 2020 campaign was cut short by COVID-19, he headed into his final season in Kalamazoo as D1Baseball's Preseason MAC Player of the Year. During an injury-shortened campaign, he hit .305 with a .474 on-base percentage in 27 games before being selected by Cincinnati in that summer's MLB Draft.