Angels’ top prospect Caden Dana makes MLB debut vs. Mariners

ANAHEIM — It was a milestone Caden Dana had envisioned for years — and it arrived quicker than most had expected.

Dana became the youngest Angels pitcher since Francisco Rodríguez in 2002 — and the club’s youngest starting pitcher since Frank Tanana in 1973.

“This is a first for me, so I know the environment is going to make it tough to keep that mindset,” Dana said a few days before his debut, “but that’s going to be a challenge.”

Through the first six innings of his Major League career, Dana indicated he’s more than ready to take on that challenge. He fired a quality start on Sunday, allowing two runs on two hits, four strikeouts and four walks.

He pulled from a five-pitch mix, heavily relying on a four-seamer that averaged 94 mph, backed by a slider, cutter, curveball and changeup.

Dana set the tone in the first inning, retiring the side on 12 pitches, and recorded his first career strikeout against Cal Raleigh, who swung through a 95.1 mph four-seamer.

“Honestly, I was really nervous,” Dana said, “but I knew after that first pitch that all of my nerves kind of released.”

The 20-year-old flashed a top-of-the-rotation presence, limiting Seattle to just a Luke Raley solo homer in the second and Victor Robles’ sacrifice fly in the third. In the fifth, he ran into a bit of trouble with two-out walks to Josh Rojas and Leo Rivas, but recovered to strike out Robles and avoided any damage, keeping the Angels’ deficit at 2-1.

Facing the middle of the Seattle order in the sixth and his pitch count creeping toward 100, Dana worked out of another jam and received a standing ovation from Angels fans appreciative of the prospect’s performance.

“Just staying within myself,” Dana said of his ability to escape jams.

He also did his research.

“For his first big league start, the amount of information he had on their lineup, the homework he did leading up to this start was really, really impressive,” said catcher Matt Thaiss.

Dana’s close circle cheered him on from the stands, a group including parents Amanda and Fred, sister Kyleigh, one of his two brothers and three of his high school coaches from Don Bosco Preparatory High School in Ramsey, N.J.

“From a mom’s perspective, you always think you have a little more time before you’re actually in this situation,” reflected Amanda. “But his performance in Double-A, especially, was just unbelievable. Then he went to the Futures Game and I said, ‘Oh, it’s coming soon.’ He’s worked so incredibly hard for this. We’re so proud of him. I couldn’t be prouder as a parent.”

Fred — who was visibly emotional and wearing a Rocket City Trash Pandas jersey with “Dana” emblazoned on the back — echoed the same sentiment.

“I was a nervous wreck,” Fred admitted. “I was praying that he made it through each inning. It was an awesome, surreal experience. He’s 20 years old. His high school coaches are here. He was pitching for these guys two years ago. Are you kidding me? It was unbelievable. I’ve been crying all day.”

For the coaches watching Dana dominate Major League hitters, their perspective was high on a sense of immense pride.

“From the beginning, watching him walk to the bullpen until his final out, the three of us and the family included, it was extremely emotional to see,” said Don Bosco head coach Mike Rooney. “In a sense, it’s the culmination of the effort that so many people have put into Caden, and then, of course, a culmination of the effort he’s put in to get here.”

“It was surreal just watching from start to finish,” coach Jim Wladkya added. “Listen, he’s made big pitches his whole career, and we saw him making big pitches today. That did not surprise us at all.”

“I’d say in one word, just proud,” coach Mike Dwyer added. “Proud of who he is, proud of what he did, proud of where he’s come from.”

“I think we felt very confident that Caden was going to have an opportunity to pitch in the Major Leagues one day,” said Rooney. “I think all three of us would be lying to you if we thought it would happen two years and two months after he recorded the last out in the state championship, though. … It’s been absolutely one of the proudest moments of our lives as coaches, that’s for sure.”

“I’m so glad they came out here,” Dana said of his coaches being at the ballpark for his debut. “They’re awesome. I’ve got to say, probably the best coaches I’ve ever had. I love hearing that from them.”