Caden Dana’s Angels demotion reveals genuine cause for concern

Add Caden Dana to the long list of Angels players who are done for the season. The Angels' top prospect endured numerous growing pains before being demoted to AA Rocket City, effectively ending his pro debut.

The 20-year-old received comparisons to Noah Syndergaard and Jered Weaver when things were clicking with the big league squad. His mechanics, hair, and effectiveness in his first professional start caused fans to swoon over the future face of the franchise. Things all came apart for Dana in his next two starts, and rather than continue to hurt his confidence the Angels' top brass will attempt to work with him further in their Instructional League or the Arizona Fall League (those rosters will be finalized near the end of September).

The Angels set a record when they selected Dana out of high school in the 2022 MLB Draft. Dana's ~$1.5 million contract was the most money ever received by an 11th rounder. The Angels selection of Dana (they also drafted his brother Casey) represents another massive-value selection of a pitcher in the 11th round. The Angels selected Chase Silseth in the 11th round of the 2021 Draft, and he was the first pitcher from that pitcher-only draft to premier for the Angels. Dana and Silseth will be major factors for the Angels next season and beyond despite their late-round selections.

Caden Dana's confidence level took a big hit in September

Dana's confidence hit is a worst-case scenario for the Angels. Dana was walking the world, and when he was in the zone he was getting hit hard. In his three starts for the Angels in 2024, Dana posted an 8:7 K:BB and allowed five home runs. He was only able to throw 10.1 innings in his three starts, and surrendered 14 hits and 11 earned runs. These early results are a small sample size for an incredibly young prospect, but they do reveal a serious cause for concern.

Coming fresh off of an incredible AA season in Rocket City, Dana's results were not expected to be this spotty. He only issued 39 walks and 10 home runs in 135.2 AA innings. A top prospect's career turning sour after mixed results on the largest stage is a result the Angels are looking to swerve away from moving forward. Jo Adell was MLB's #1 prospect back in his day, and his days with the Angels look to be numbered after several turns for the worst in Anaheim.

Dana will undoubtedly prepare this off-season with big league baseballs in preparation for an opportunity to break camp with the Angels, rather than the Trash Pandas. Perhaps the switch to big league baseballs were the reason for Dana's ineffective debut? Maybe it was the adjustment to a long season. A high schooler debuting in MLB two years after getting drafted, then struggling, is not unheard of. That being said, the early returns on Dana are a bad indicator for the organization's ability to develop their pipeline of top prospects into successful professionals.