Such as, No. 4 hitters.
"It certainly would appear that way," Melvin says. "The number of walks we've had since he's been here ... whether that's a contagious effect, or whether it's the pressure certain guys don't have hitting in the four hole, he's really taken some pressure off.
"I think it's made us a deeper lineup, and tougher to navigate."
Since Dunn's arrival, a team that once needed a search party to find paths to home plate suddenly is averaging 5.5 runs per game. And a club that rarely met a strike three it couldn't hack at is averaging 4.8 walks per game.
It's a small sample, just 13 games. It doesn't mean that the Diamondbacks suddenly will stop whiffing and become gourmet cooks picking over fresh fruit when it comes to pitch selection.
But let's just say that as they make their push for a second consecutive NL West title, some of the Diamondbacks are taking a cue from Dunn, whose 96 walks lead the majors.
"He's not afraid of hitting with two strikes," third baseman Mark Reynolds says. "When I come up now, I try to settle down and get a good pitch to hit. I've stopped swinging at the first pitch."
Not a bad idea, being that Reynolds ranks second in the majors with 163 strikeouts.
It's not like Reynolds picks Dunn's brain every day.
"But we've talked," says the third baseman, who generally hits sixth in the lineup, two slots after Dunn.
And?
"He tells me that if I miss a fastball, don't worry. He tells me, 'If you're 0-0 and you're trying to drive in a run and you take a fastball for a strike, relax. He's got to throw two more strikes to get you out.' "
Elementary, yes.
But for a young lineup still learning how good it can be, it's a whole lot easier to put theories into action when a slugger such as Dunn lurks in the middle and guys like Reynolds no longer feel like they need to stop in a telephone booth on the way to the plate and change into Superman.
"I'd take a fastball in the past and I'd get so frustrated because it felt like I let the pitcher throw a fastball by me," Reynolds says.
Does this mean you should expect Reynolds to suddenly be leading an on-base percentage chart near you sometime soon? No.
But it sure illustrates the added benefit a guy can bring to a club besides his nightly box score line. Reynolds walked six times in the first 12 games after Dunn joined the lineup -- not league-leading stuff, but for a guy who had walked only 44 times in his first 111 games, certainly noticeable. And helpful.
Interesting stuff, especially when measured against Dodgers coach Larry Bowa's anger at the team's blasé ways while getting swept in Philadelphia, and when measured against one scout's observation the other day that Matt Kemp, who always hustles, didn't run hard to first in a recent game. The haphazard influence of Manny Ramirez?
Anecdotal evidence, to be sure, and definitely not fair to attach it to Ramirez. But worth watching as the Diamondbacks and Dodgers race -- or, in this division, leisurely jog -- down the stretch.
It's the NL West's version of the Milwaukee-Cubs arms race, in which, one day after Milwaukee traded for ace CC Sabathia, the Cubs struck for Rich Harden.
Here, Dunn arrived in Arizona 12 days after the Dodgers acquired Manny.
Though the Diamondbacks were quite aware of their rival's marquee addition -- not only were they the opponent for Ramirez's Hollywood debut, his arrival news conference was piped over televisions throughout Dodger Stadium, including in the visitors' clubhouse -- the urgency to make a move of their own really came when they lost second baseman Orlando Hudson for the season on Aug. 9.
Still, the fates of the Diamondbacks and Dodgers the rest of the way will be inextricably linked with the performances of Dunn and Ramirez.
Hairy situation and, so far, Arizona is maintaining.
"He's a monster," Diamondbacks left fielder Conor Jackson says of Dunn and his .463 on-base percentage since arriving in the desert. "He gets on base, he drives in runs, he's a proven power guy.
"It's definitely something we were lacking. We have power guys in our lineup, but never power guys with a big on-base percentage."
