Angels fans hoping Caden Dana hype will be fulfilled at 2024 Futures Game

Long blond-haired pitching prospects tend to work out for the Halos — just ask Jered Weaver.

The LA Angels have another pitcher to fit that flowing archetype, leading to an excitement around Caden Dana.

The right-handed hurler had a marvelous spring training, giving an early peek into what the 11th-round draft pick is capable of on a big stage.

The Halos assigned him to Double-A Rocket City, and his development is expediting. Dana, the No. 1 prospect in the Angels organization, was named to the 2024 All-Star Futures Game (July 13 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas) to showcase the best prospects in all of baseball.

Dana, 20, is the lone Angels representative after a tremendous start to the summer. Let's take a look at the numbers.

Through 90 1/3 innings, Dana has started 16 games to highlight a 2.99 ERA with a 97/31 K/BB and a 1.03 WHIP. Those 97 punchouts are third-most in the Southern League through July 12 games, but the two arms ahead of him have one more start than Dana. His strikeout total is tied for fifth in all of Double-A (Eastern League, Southern League, Texas League).

“He’s obviously off to an outstanding start, really good first half,” Angels GM Perry Minasian told MLB.com. “The competitiveness, the work in between starts has been just as impressive if not more than the actual work on the mound in games. He’s definitely somebody we have high hopes for, and he’s pitched well.”

His batting average against is .194, which places him fourth in the Southern League and sixth among all Double-A hurlers.

In an age where pitchers aren't necessarily workhorses anymore, Dana trails just two arms in innings pitched among all Southern League pitchers through July 12. Nine of his starts lasted at least six frames, with four going seven or more innings.

He also twirled a career-best performance on June 7, striking out a season-high 10 batters in eight innings against Chattanooga. In that start, we were able to see his A+ stuff, which included Dana not being afraid to throw inside to left-handers, whether it was a breaking pitch or a perfectly-dotted fastball.

Another tidbit worth noting is that Dana isn't often one to toss a clunker. He's surrendered more than three earned runs in a start this season just once and has cashed in eight starts with zero or one earned run.

For his career, which stretches from Rookie Ball to Double-A, Dana has whiffed 194 batters in 167 innings with a 3.40 ERA as he only trends upward. And the Futures Game will be his biggest moment yet.