The Los Angeles Angels called up their No. 1 prospect, starting pitcher Caden Dana, at the start of September. Despite having never pitched at a higher level than Double-A, the Angels felt confident in the tools he displayed with the Trash Pandas. And he showed them in his Major League debut on Sept. 1.
Dana tossed six innings and allowed two earned runs to earn a victory in his first ever start. However, he allowed four walks in that game, signaling potential trouble ahead. Over his next two starts, he gave up 10 earned runs in 4.1 total innings, bringing his three-start ERA to 9.58 and his WHIP to 2.032.
The Angels didn’t want Dana to get discouraged with repeated bad results at the Major League level, so they sent him back down to Double-A to regroup, ending his 2024 campaign with the Halos. But he goes back to Rocket City with some important learning lessons, focusing specifically on free passes, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com:
“I can’t start off an inning like the fourth, walking a guy,” Dana said. “Walks create bad luck and hurt you in the long run. So I have to stay on the attack and slow the game down.”
Manager Ron Washington discussed the decision to send Dana down as well as the 20-year-old’s reaction to the choice, according to Jeff Fletcher of The O.C. Register:
“He had a long year and we don’t want him out there getting negative vibes about his outings when they’re not going the way he wanted them to go,” Manager Ron Washington said. “So we just felt like we need to go ahead and take it away from him.
“He took it like a pro,” Washington said. “He knows what we are doing is in his best interest. He’s a young baby. He’s following our lead. We decided to shut him down, and that was the end of that.”
The Angels are doing a smart thing protecting one of their most important young pieces from further discouragement in the Majors. He is still only 20 and has so much to learn about the MLB game, and there is no reason to force it in losing efforts this season.
Dana will likely begin 2025 on the MLB roster in what could be a fascinating young rotation for the Angels.
George Klassen perfect through five in Double-A
The Angels No. 2 pitcher in the farm system is Double-A starter George Klassen. They acquired Klassen from the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline, and after a few difficult starts, he put together his best start since the trade. He was perfect through five and allowed only one walk in six innings with no runs and no hits.
