The starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday will not be much older than many of the Little Leaguers who occasionally parade around the perimeter of the field on Sundays at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif.
Right-hander Caden Dana, 20, will make his major league debut for the Angels (56-80) on Sunday in the rubber match of the three-game series against the Seattle Mariners (69-67). Dana will be the youngest pitcher to take the mound for the club since Francisco Rodriguez in 2002, and the youngest to start a game since a then-20-year-old Frank Tanana in 1973.
Dana, however, has earned this opportunity after going 9-7 with a 2.52 ERA in 23 starts for Double-A Rocket City. He had 147 strikeouts in 135 2/3 innings and has hit 100 mph on the radar gun.
Dana’s start comes two days after left-hander Sam Aldegheri made his major league debut for the club. Aldegheri allowed seven runs in five innings of Los Angeles’ 9-5 setback on Friday. The Angels evened the series with a 5-4 decision on Saturday.
“They are two of our top guys down there, and with the way things are, they’re getting their chance,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “There’s nowhere else we can go. We’re going to have to see what they’ve got to offer. They’ve got good arms. They’re supposed to have a little bit of maturity.”
Dana, who is 6-foot-4, was an 11th-round draft pick out of Don Bosco Preparatory High School in New Jersey in 2022. His $1.5 million signing bonus was significantly higher than most players drafted after the 10th round, with the Angels eager to land Dana and keep him from accepting a college scholarship.
Dana will be opposed by Seattle right-hander Bryce Miller (10-7, 3.23 ERA), who is coming off one of his best starts of the season. In Monday’s 5-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays, Miller allowed one run and two hits while striking out 10 and walking none in seven innings.
That game, however, was at home in Seattle, where Miller has been on top of his game. He’s 6-3 with a 2.03 ERA at home compared to 4-4 with a 4.75 ERA on the road.
Miller also has struggled in hot weather, and the temperature is expected to be 89 degrees Sunday in Anaheim.
“It’s kind of weird,” Miller said. “When my hands get that sweaty, I almost have more grip on the splitter, which makes it a little difficult to locate.”
Miller, though, has been outstanding against the Angels, going 1-0 with a 0.50 ERA in three career starts, allowing just one run in 18 innings with 24 strikeouts and only one walk. That includes two starts this season in which he’s thrown 13 innings without allowing a run.
Zach Neto was taken out of the game after the fifth inning Saturday by Washington, who said the shortstop “wasn’t into the game,” and that he “needed to be taught a lesson.”
–Field Level Media