Angels' top prospect leaves fans salivating after dominant spring training outing

The Angels have a knack for rushing their prospects' development, and their top prospect's latest spring training start is leaving fans begging for more of the same. Due to Jack Kochanowicz's absence due to an illness spreading through the Angels' clubhouse, Caden Dana got the start against the Chicago Cubs and mowed down their lineup which was filled with their regulars. It's hard to not think he has an off-chance of getting added to the team sooner rather than later after watching him dominate major league hitters.

Dana went 9-up, 9-down, which included three strikeouts of Seiya Suzuki, Michael Busch, and Pete Crow-Armstrong. There was no StatCast data during the game, but there was one report that he was up to 95mph on his four-seam. He was uber-efficient, only needing 36 pitches to get through his three innings of work. Jeff Fletcher of The OC Register mentioned how Dana tweaked his mechanics in between his spring training outings.

Angels' top prospect leaves fans salivating after dominant spring training outing

Ron Washington talked about how the evaluation process for their players will not begin the first few starts of spring training, as the organization will hold off on major analysis until later in camp. Angels fans are hoping that Dana's dominant outing might be the exception to that rule. The major league roster is chock full of players whose timelines were sped up, including Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Ben Joyce, Reid Detmers, Kochanowicz, Chase Silseth, Ryan Zeferjahn, and maybe even Christian Moore. Dana, of course, made his MLB debut when he was only 20-years-old. If he continues pitching at this rate, how could they not make room for him? He's already on the 40-man roster, which makes things easier and indicates he will be seen at some point in the near future.

Dana is a super dark-horse candidate to make the Opening Day roster. It stands to reason that the Angels will stick with Kochanowicz and Detmers on the big league team, or even José Suarez or Dakota Hudson if one of those two goes down with an injury. The team rushed Dana last year out of necessity, and they will certainly want to see some more seasoning at the minor league level while they roll with more veteran pitchers.

Even if/when Dana starts the season in Double-A and not the majors, Angels fans have to be incredibly excited for his big league career. He mostly gets projected as a mid-rotation starter, but his next-level pitchability at 21-years-old leaves many believing that he is capable of much more. He is clearly a pitcher and not a thrower, which bodes well for his future value. The Angels certainly got a good one, and it's moments like these that make fans feel like not all hope is lost with this tortured franchise.

More LA Angels News from Halo Hangout