The youth movement is in full swing for the Los Angeles Angels, and Caden Dana looks like the latest piece of the puzzle.
The right-hander is set to make his second major league start when the Angels play the Texas Rangers in the finale of their four-game series on Sunday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.
Dana (1-0, 3.00 ERA) was stellar in his MLB debut last Sunday, limiting the Seattle Mariners to two runs and two hits over six innings in a 3-2 victory.
“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 said.
Dana, who will turn 21 on Dec. 17, became the youngest pitcher to take the mound for the Angels since Francisco Rodriguez in 2002, and the youngest starting pitcher since Frank Tanana in 1973.
“He proved to himself he can pitch in the big leagues,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “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 to.”
Dana tore through the minors after the Angels (59-83) selected him in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, posting a 12-12 record in 41 starts over three seasons with a 3.01 ERA with 244 strikeouts in 212 1/3 innings.
He most recently notched a 9-7 mark and 2.52 ERA over 23 starts for Double-A Rocket City, striking out 147 in 135 2/3.
Veteran Andrew Heaney (4-13, 3.81 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale for Texas (69-74). The left-hander is still looking to be rewarded for his efforts after going 0-2 in five starts in August despite posting a 3.24 ERA for the month.
He blanked the New York Yankees on three hits over five innings in his first start in September on Tuesday and departed with a 1-0 lead, but the Yankees scored two runs in the seventh and two in the eighth before Texas rallied for a 7-4 victory.
“It seems like every year you have a guy that you just have trouble getting run support for, and he’s been that guy,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of Heaney. “It’s almost every start, but that’s not indicative of how he’s been throwing the ball because he’s given us a chance so consistently to win a game. We just have a tough time getting the runs there for him.”
Heaney, who played for the Angels from 2015-21, is 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA in four appearances against his former team, including two starts.
He started against Los Angeles on May 17 and was the losing pitcher in a 9-3 setback. Heaney gave up three runs (two earned) and five hits, needing 83 pitches to get through 3 2/3 innings.
The Rangers won the opener of the three-game series 3-1 on Thursday night, the Angels came back with a 5-1 win on Friday, and Texas rallied for a 6-4 victory on Saturday.
Before Saturday’s game, Los Angeles placed outfielders Kevin Pillar (left thumb sprain) and Jo Adell (left oblique strain) on the 10-day injured list and recalled outfielders Bryce Teodosio and Jordan Adams from Triple-A Salt Lake.
Teodosio started in center field in his major league debut Saturday and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
–Field Level Media
