MLB Dream Comes True For Warwick’s Caden Dana
Caden Dana’s dream came true on September 1. That’s when the right-handed pitcher from Warwick was making his MLB debut, toeing the rubber for the Los Angeles Angels. It was a quick transition to The Show for Dana. A little more than two years ago, he was making his professional bow in rookie league ball for the Angels.
It’s been another rough year for the Angels. While you can get Super Bowl odds on both of LA’s teams - the Rams and the Chargers - at the best NFL betting sites, and the crosstown Dodgers are the current favorites in the World Series betting lines, the Angels are enduring through another losing campaign.
They are currently in last place in the American League West, heading for their ninth successive losing season. The Angels haven’t tasted playoff baseball since 2014.
While that might be bad news for the fanbase, it’s merely opportunity knocking for prospects such as Dana. Looking to build a more promising future, players like him are being offered every chance to show that they can be a difference maker in turning the fortunes of the franchise around.
Washington Looking For Potential
That’s exactly what Angels manager Ron Washington is stressing to players such as Dana, that this is their moment and it’s up to them to make the most of it.
“Anytime you’re playing baseball at the Major League level, you’re auditioning, and it’s also a learning experience,” Washington told MLB.com. “All I want them to do is play baseball and understand the game. The things they don’t understand, we’re going to help them understand. But there’s certain skill sets that they have, and I expect them to bring that skill set here.
“You gain experience by being up here, but you have to bring your skill set. You just can’t come up here and be a blind man.”
The Angels are seeing a bright future ahead for Dana.
“We believe he’s going to be an impactful starter,” Angels GM Perry Minasian told Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times.
Historic Debut For Dana
When he took the mound to face the Seattle Mariners on September 1, it was both a momentous and history-making day for Dana and the Angels franchise.
At 20 years and 259 days old, he was the youngest Angels pitcher to appear in a game since Francisco Rodriguez in 2022. And Dana was the youngest pitcher to start a game for the team since the legendary Frank Tanana in 1973.
Dana got the win in a 3-2 verdict. In doing so, he became the youngest pitcher in franchise history to record a victory.
“Honestly, I was really nervous,” Dana told MLB.com, “but I knew after that first pitch that all of my nerves kind of released.”
Dana was also the first pitcher in his big league debut to go at least six innings and permit two or fewer runs at his age or younger since Houston’s Jordan Lyles (20 years, 244 days) on May 31, 2011, against the Chicago Cubs. He’s the first to do so in the American League since Joel Davis (20 years, 215 days) of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 11, 1985, against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Utilizing a five-pitch mix to keep hitters off kilter, Dana struck out four over six innings, allowing just two runs.
”It’s awesome,” he told ESPN. “That was special. Everyone behind me played well. It was a good feeling getting a win like that.”
As much as they were impressed with his repertoire of pitches, Dana’s Angels teammates were also awestruck by the amount of prep work the kid did readying for his first big-league starting assignment.
“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,” Angels catcher Matt Thaiss told MLB.com.
Washington also admired the mindset that his rookie pitcher brought with him to the mound.
”He didn’t let any inning affect however it was going, and it shows he has some poise,” Washington said. “He proved to himself he can pitch in the big leagues.
”He made pitches when he had to. He used his fastball, wasn’t able to land his breaking ball as consistently as he wanted to, but landed them when he needed.”
Even Dana’s opponents were suitably impressed by the kid’s work on the bump.
”I thought he had enough secondary stuff to kind of complement the fastball and kept us off stride just enough,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson said.
Dana Climbs Quickly To The Top
It was only on August 9, 2022 that Dana was launching his pro career with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Angels. Within a month, he’d been promoted to the Single-A Inland Empire 66ers of the California League.
In the spring of 2024, Dana attended Angels spring training as a non-roster invitee. He was given assignment to the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League to begin the 2024 regular season.
His impressive rise was also seeing Dana climbing among the top prospects in the MLB pipeline. He cracked the rankings of the top 100 MLB prospects. At No. 73, he was the only Angels player on the list. He was selected to pitch in the 2024 MLB Futures Game in July, part of the MLB All-Star Game festivities.
Dana was leading all Double-A pitchers with 147 strikeouts at the time of his recall to the show. He was also leading in innings pitched (135.2), opponent batting average (.184) and WHIP (0.94). Dana also ranked second in ERA (2.52) and wins (nine). An 11th-round pick in the 2022 amateur draft, Dana went 9-7 with a 2.52 ERA in 23 starts for Rocket City this season.
”I’m throwing pitches with conviction instead of just throwing them to throw them,” Dana told Sports Illustrated of his progress as a hurler. “There is actually meaning behind what I’m doing.”