By Ryan Falla; AngelsWin.com Featured Writer

Most budding prospects would be lucky to face the problem of having to outdo a literal historic debut to kick off their Major League career, but for the Angels Caden Dana this is just another day in the life as he prepares for Spring Training with a real chance to cement his coming legacy. Though the big league pitching staff is quite incumbered heading into February it seems without question that Dana will earn a long-term starting role at some point in 2025. The questionable health of this starting staff leaves many innings up for grabs given the the teams 22nd overall ranking in IP by starting pitchers last season, and when paired up with Dana's displayed stamina and durability it appears almost inevitable for the two to come to head long-term come 2025. The last two seasons combined have seen the young star log 214.1IP across both the Major Leagues and the MiLB, a volume mark surpassed only by Tyler Anderson, Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning and Patrick Sandoval across the same span. Not only has his consistent longevity been on full display, his artistic prowess on the mound has been a sight to behold as he’s collected 244 strikeouts across the same span. Hitters whiff at a league high rate against his stuff, he puts up league topping quality start volume, and his bulldog mentality is very much primed to lead a starting staff hungry for a leader. 

“The differences between 2023 going into 2024 was the heavy workload. The different aspects that went into taking care of my body and mind was night and day, that was a huge change last year. Once I got to the Majors I had three outings to learn from, and it's a different game up there for sure. It's really easy to want to change yourself once you get to the Majors. it's a bigger crowd, bigger attraction, bigger games and all that. It’s more of a challenge to stay within yourself, especially once you’re on that mound. Having a bad outing at the Majors can make you feel like you need to change your whole world. A lot of people get mistaken like that, especially when things go bad. They force change. But that's the biggest battle, not changing much and staying true to yourself. Learning how to stay within myself and just refine what got me there was a huge lesson in 2024.”  

2024 saw Dana finish with accolades in both the Majors and Minors as he finished his AA season as one of eight qualifying pitchers in the Southern League. Although he came just 3 innings short of a Triple Crown in AA (beat out in the IP column by teammate Chase Chaney with 138.IP) one has to wonder if his leading performances in K’s (147) and ERA (2.52), while coming 2nd in IP (135.2), offers foresight into his coming Major League potential. The best part about his durability on the mound came not just in length, but quality, as Dana tied for the 3rd most quality starts (14) across ALL of Minor League baseball.  His ability to keep hitters off balance in the MiLB was a key factor in this quality streak as he held the opposition to a paltry .184 BA against him, much of this coming to a phenomenal 41% swing and miss rate against his power slider. All of that accomplishment found it's way into his first Major League start in September and immediately paid off in the form of a 6 inning, 4K outing that cemented Dana as the youngest Angels pitcher to earn a debut win. The rising star of Dana stands to eclipse itself in all aspects come 2025 thanks to the prime Major League exposure he got to end the season; and not just in terms of stuff and ability on the mound, but longevity and mental maturation as he fills into his true superstar form. 

“I only had my fastball and slider in that first start. I didn't even have my slider early. But once I found one thing on the mound I became confident in it and built on that.  I started to make adjustments and notice what plays off what. I was still learning while I was at the top [Major Leagues]. Facing different hitters and seeing what mixes best against righties or lefties was the biggest thing for me. I kept throwing what worked it so ended up being a good outing. But it’s mostly a mental game, I was mentally prepared for the outing for a full four days, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. ” 

The impact Dana has had on this organization is not lost on him after all that was accomplished last year, especially considering his draft position as an 11th rounder out of HS just 2 years ago. While there are certain veterans seemingly grandfathered into bottom of the rotation this Spring there are few guarantees given the pack of young talent rolling into February. Regardless of where the 2025 season starts for Dana you can very much expect to see him getting his flowers at the Major League before season end, if not long before. Should all go well for the Angels you may very well see Dana continue his legacy into the post-season within the next three years, if not by 2026. Is it out of the question to expect an Angels playoff spot in 2025? Perhaps, but with guys like Dana and incoming company fueling the competitive environment up top chances are looking better than ever.     

“This Spring will be interesting for sure. I got the experience I needed in 2024, now I'm ready to show it. My biggest thing this Spring is to have fun. I'm not going out there trying to steal jobs. I know there are spots open but I don't want to focus much on anything like that. I want to enjoy being around all my teammates and building new relationships for the new season. Baseball is a beautiful sport, I’m looking forward to a fresh start to the season no matter where I start.”