SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Dane Dunning is only 26 years old, but he's already in camp with his third team since being taken in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft by the Nationals.

He faced the second of those three teams -- the White Sox -- in the Rangers’ "B" game on Friday. Dunning said he felt comfortable facing them, a lot of whom he came up through the Minors with. In turn, he feels good about where he is pitching-wise at this point in the spring.

“I feel really close, especially after today's outing, where I was able to get a lot of my rhythm back and my timing,” Dunning said. “Everything's working well together, and I was able to throw all five pitches for strikes. I felt good. I did feel comfortable and strong and executed well. I feel really close to where I need to be for this upcoming season.”

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Dunning, the Rangers' No. 3 prospect, pitched 2 1/3 innings against Chicago. After inducing a groundout from the first hitter he faced, things got a little shaky for Dunning, who gave up three straight singles and hit his pitch limit, forcing Texas to roll the inning.

He said he felt his rhythm was a little bit off to start his outing, but he got more comfortable as the inning went on. Dunning’s final two full innings were better, as he gave up only two more hits and struck out four.

Halfway through Spring Training now, Dunning thinks repetition and executing pitches are the two biggest things he needs to work on. Dunning is likely to be a piggyback option for the Rangers, and less of a traditional starter, as he works his way up to throwing more innings.

He missed all of the 2019 Minor League season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery and only pitched 34 innings in his debut ‘20 season.

Manager Chris Woodward said one of the main points he communicated to Dunning was attacking the strike zone early in counts.

“I know [Jose] Trevino was working with him in the dugout in between innings,” Woodward said. “I guess the last inning, he struck out the side and it was basically nine pitches or 10 pitches. So it was good to see him progress through the outing and still have a good one. To finish the way he did was very encouraging.”

Kyle Gibson, the Rangers' 33-year-old starter, credits Dunning for his delivery and the tight spin he has on his breaking ball. He also praised Dunning for his preparation and his willingness to learn as a young player throughout Spring Training. Gibson said Dunning’s mindset is that he always knows what he wants to take to the mound in each outing.

“He's obviously a well-thought-of prospect and a highly regarded guy to come in and make an impact soon,” Gibson said. “So for a guy to still be trying to work on his craft, and to get a little bit better in that position where he's pretty good. I think that shows a lot about him.”

Dunning echoed those sentiments, saying he’s happy to be in a position to learn from players with a lot more experience than him. He said he’s picked the brains of various pitchers on the staff and even started using a water bag workout routine he learned from Gibson.

“I’m just fortunate to be in the situation I am,” Dunning said. “Just being able to talk and be able to learn with the people who have had years of service time. Me, being a rookie and coming up, I'm trying to establish myself and be successful. I'm trying to surround myself with that environment. Being able to talk with every guy and learn simple things, I really love it.”