Caden Dana can do little else to prove himself to Angels after another dominant start

A call-up to the big leagues may be a bit much, but Caden Dana has little left to prove at Double-A after yet another stellar outing for the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Dana's phenomenal 2024 campaign continues, and many Los Angeles Angels fans are wondering what else the young hurler has left to accomplish at the Double-A level.

Dana took the hill on Tuesday for the Trash Pandas and absolutely owned the Montgomery Biscuits. Dana went eight innings and recorded nine punchouts en route to his eighth win of the season. Rocket City walked away with the 7-3 victory.

It marked the third time this season that Dana had gone at least eight innings. The right-hander went all nine innings a few weeks back against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Cincinnati Reds' Double-A affiliate was no match for Dana as he struck out 10 of the 31 batters he faced and walked just one. A month-and-a-half earlier, Dana went eight innings against those same Lookouts and struck out 10 while allowing just two runs on five hits.

It's time for the LA Angels to promote Caden Dana to the Salt Lake Bees

Dana now has nearly 130 innings under his belt and 140 punchouts. The 20-year-old owns a sparkling 2.64 ERA and a rather impressive 7.6% walk rate. The month, the opposition is hitting just .152 and Dana has struck 25% of the batters he's faced. It's time for a new challenge.

The Angels need to promote Dana to Triple-A Salt Lake to close out his 2024 campaign or shut him down. The right-hander has nearly doubled his innings pitched from 2023, so it stands to reason that setting him up for success and preventing injury due to an overworked arm would be prudent.

No matter the decision, Dana has effectively worn out his welcome in Madison, Alabama, and a number of opposing batters in the Southern League are looking forward to the day that the Angels promote their top prospect to the next level.

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