SL1 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp

Dunand Named Southern League Player of the Week

August 20, 2018 - Southern League (SL1)
Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp News Release


JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp shortstop Joe Dunand has been named the Southern League Player of the Week for August 13 -19, announced by the league office on Monday.

Over the past week, Dunand led the Southern League with seven RBI, also hitting .374 (9-for-24) with three home runs and was also tied for the Double-A lead with six extra-base hits. He also led Double-A baseball with 21 total bases, and his .875 slugging percentage was also second-best in the league.

Dunand's hottest stretch at the plate came in games on Tuesday and Wednesday at Pensacola. On Tuesday Dunand was 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of home runs, his first multi-homer game, as he tied a career-high with 4 runs batted in and set a career-high with four hits. He followed that up with a 3-for-5 performance on Wednesday with two runs batted in. All seven of his hits came in consecutive order between the two games, coming just four hits shy of the Southern League record for most consecutive hits. This strong performance at the plate helped Jacksonville win the series at Pensacola, and Sunday he returned home to the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville by hitting a solo home run against the Birmingham Barons.

Overall Dunand is hitting .193 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 49 games for the Jumbo Shrimp. He started his season with High-A Jupiter where he hit .263 with seven home runs and 42 RBI in 66 games. This is the first full professional season for Dunand, and in a combined 115 games he's hitting .223 with 14 home runs and 64 RBI, the third-most RBI in the Marlins organization.

Dunand, 22, is a native of Miami, Florida and was selected by the Marlins in the second round (No. 51 overall pick) of the 2017 draft out of North Carolina State. Dunand is the nephew of 14-time All-Star Alex Rodriguez, who also played for Jacksonville on his way to the majors in 1994. Dunand is regarded as Miami's No. 21 prospect according to MLB.com.

While this is the first weekly Southern League honor for Dunand, Jeff Brigham was also honored as the league's Pitcher of the Week for April 5-15, Austin Dean was the Southern League Player of the Week for April 16-22, and Cade Gotta was the league's Player of the Week from May 14-20. Isan Diaz was twice named Southern League Player of the Week for June 4-10 and July 9-15. Dean was also honored as the Southern League Player of the Month for April, and Dylan Lee was recently honored as the league's BC © Relief Pitcher of the Month for July.

The Jumbo Shrimp continue their series with Birmingham at 7:05 p.m. Monday, when Jacksonville right-hander Nick Neidert (11-6) is scheduled to face Barons left-hander Matt Tomshaw (4-7). Gates open at 6 p.m. for VyStar Credit Union Charity Begins at Home with the American Lung Association and the Jaguars Foundation raising funds through ticket sales. The Launch-A-Ball promotion will benefit the American Lung Association. VyStar Credit Union members can get a buy-3-get-1 free ticket special by showing their VyStar credit or debit card at the box office. Half-Price Yuengling Monday means 16-oz. Yuengling cans are half-price.

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Southern League Stories from August 20, 2018


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