LA Angels need to promote this hot prospect soon, and it's not Christian Moore

Christian Moore has been everything the Los Angeles Angels could have wanted in a first-round draft pick. Moore, who's already been promoted to Double-A Rocket City, has been blazing hot since making his professional debut.

In six games split between Low-A and Double-A, Moore is hitting .481/.517/1.000 with six extra-base hits, including four home runs. Moore has an obvious path to the big leagues that could come as early as this season.

But as good as Moore's been in his brief introduction to professional baseball, Caden Dana has been better. The Angels' top pitching prospect has been on point of late, and is showing why the Halos' front office and scouts are so high on the 20-year-old.

LA Angels need to promote Caden Dana to Triple-A (or the active roster)

Dana has nothing left to prove at Double-A. In 20 starts for the Rocket City Trash Pandas this season, Dana is 7-7 with a 2.75 ERA and 127 punchouts in 118 innings of work. The right-hander even has a complete game on his résumé.

So, the question becomes whether or not the Angels need to bump Dana up to Triple-A Salt Lake or just bite the bullet and give the young hurler a chance in the big leagues over the final few weeks of the 2024 season.

Common sense would dictate that a slight bump in competition to Triple-A would allow Dana to test his mettle against more advanced hitters and even some fringe major leaguers who are residing in the upper levels of the minor leagues. But since when has Perry Minasian and the Angels front office ever used common sense?

After throwing just over 68 innings in 2023, one has to wonder how much further the Halos want to push Dana this season. At 118 innings on the year, the former 11th-round draft pick has to be close to his innings limit.

While Moore seems like the type of player the Angels enjoy fast-tracking to the big leagues, don't be surprised if Dana gets an extended look in the coming weeks as well. If nothing else, LA should send Dana to Triple-A, as he's more than proven to be up to the task of facing Double-A hitters.

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