What to expect from Angels prospect Caden Dana in MLB

You can typically bank on the Angels calling up a top prospect earlier than expected. This weekend will be no different.

The move comes only two years after the Halos selected Dana in the 11th round of the 2022 Draft out of a New Jersey high school. His $1.5 million signing bonus (well above the $125,000 assigned to picks beyond the 10th round in that year’s process) spoke more to Los Angeles’ belief in the right-hander, and that’s been backed up by his quick ascent to Anaheim.

Per the Angels, Dana, who will turn 21 on Dec. 17, will become the club’s youngest pitcher since Francisco Rodriguez in 2002 and the youngest pitcher to start a game since Frank Tanana in 1973. The hurler will also be the second-youngest active Major Leaguer upon his arrival; only Brewers wunderkind Jackson Chourio is younger.

Dana has been arguably the most successful pitcher at Double-A this season over his 23-start run with Rocket City. He leads the level with 147 strikeouts and a 0.94 WHIP and ranks second with a 2.52 ERA, 135 2/3 innings and a .184 average-against. His 27.4 percent K rate sits seventh among 50 Double-A qualifiers. Like many Angels prospects, he skipped right over Triple-A Salt Lake and one of the game’s most hitter-friendly environments in the Pacific Coast League.

What has made the 6-foot-4 righty pop all the more in 2024 has been his ability to go deep into games in the Southern League. Dana had pitched six innings or more in five of his last six outings, including a nine-inning effort on July 26. He eclipsed the 100-pitch threshold six times in his previous 13 starts, a rarity for a pitcher with his age and pro experience. His 135 2/3 frames are nearly double his 2023 total of 68 1/3, and that might mean he’ll get limited looks in The Show before reaching his innings threshold for the season.

From a stuff perspective, Dana typically sits around 93-95 mph with his fastball and has touched as high as 97 this summer at Double-A. Thrown from a three-quarters delivery, the heater has some armside movement that will run in on righties. Dana relies heavily on the pitch, throwing it more than half the time.

His mid-80s slider has been his most-used secondary pitch — an offering with depth that dips below bats and generates whiffs against batters from both sides. Per Synergy Sports, batters have whiffed on 41 percent of their swings against Dana sliders in 2024 and have swung at the pitch 40 percent of the time when it’s been outside the zone, strengthening the belief that it could be a plus pitch.

However, some evaluators see promise in Dana’s mid-80s changeup as a pitch with adequate separation off the fastball and decent fade. The cambio, which averages below 1600 rpm of spin, partly explains why Dana has limited lefties to a .149 average and .164 slugging percentage over 229 plate appearances at Double-A this season. It could be a pitch that sees more usage in the Majors as the Angels work with Dana on becoming more than a fastball-slider type.

He also shows an upper-70s, 12-to-6 curveball that can get really loopy and often misses the zone, making it a fourth pitch in terms of quality.

Dana is efficient because of his willingness to go right after batters without putting too much effort or strain into his delivery. However, he can be prone to giving up flyball contact (45.5 percent of the time in ‘24), and he can be especially hittable when he catches too much of the zone. Reds prospect Cam Collier proved this when he took a 94.1 mph Dana fastball deep for a homer to right-center in the All-Star Futures Game last month.

If Dana can live more in the lower quadrant, he could settle into a middle-of-the-rotation spot for the Angels over the long term. No matter how this first MLB look goes, he should at least be back in consideration for a Major League starting spot next spring.