The Angels are doing their best to break their prized top pitching prospect

The Angels saw their eight-game winning streak snapped against the Miami Marlins, while fans were treated to a surprise appearance by a key top prospect. José Soriano struggled and left the game after 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits, three earned runs, three walks to just one strikeout in the process. Brock Burke followed him up to clean up, posting a scoreless 1.1 innings, helping the Angels stay within striking distance down just 3-1.

The next pitcher called upon to follow Burke was a surprise. With a worn-down bullpen, the Angels called up top pitching prospect Caden Dana, who was then called upon to eat innings for the second time this season.

Dana would serve up a three-run homer to Connor Norby, extending the Marlins' lead to 6-1 -- a score that would hold until the Angels were able to scratch across another run in the bottom of the ninth. They were unable to mount a rally and ultimately fell by a score of 6-2.

Dana looked out of sorts, struggling to throw strikes while walking four and giving up three hits in addition to recording four strikeouts. He's set to be optioned back down to Triple-A Salt Lake following his spotty appearance.

It really seems like the Angels are trying to break Caden Dana

This is the second time the Angels have called up Caden Dana, with the first coming early in the season back on April 5. In both instances, Dana, who is the youngest player to appear in a game in the American League this season at just 21 years old, was quickly sent back down, with the sole purpose of his promotions being to cover for a depleted bullpen.

It's not uncommon for teams to carry an optionable arm in Triple-A that can shuttle back and forth in these scenarios, but rarely is that arm also their top pitching prospect.

The strategy seems questionable, and the timing is dubious at best. The Angels are certainly no strangers to rush top prospects to the majors, but usually it is to have regular roles. For Dana, his growing list of callups have never been designed for him to stay up long term.

His big league debut came in a more customary way last season, as he was a September callup on a team going nowhere, making it logical that the team would try to get his feet wet with some big league experience.

That short stint didn't go well, with Dana making just three starts and posting a 9.58 ERA in 10.1 innings. The timing of his second and third callups, both of which have come this season, has been concerning.

After a spring training performance that saw him flash his immense potential but ultimately struggle against big league talent, it made sense to leave him down at Triple-A, a level at which he had never pitched, to regain his confidence. Instead, he was quickly called up as an emergency long man and quickly took a beating.

Still, Dana took the experience in stride and dominated the competition at Triple-A in April, making it appear that he might be an option to solidify the big league rotation sooner rather than later. However, as the calendar flipped to May, Dana began to scuffle and currently owns a 5.21 ERA for Salt Lake.

Of course, the Angels would take the opportunity to call him up again to serve as the sacrificial lamb against the Marlins while he's already trying to work through a funk in the minor leagues.

By calling him up at points where he's been struggling and placing him in a different role (coming out of the bullpen) than he's accustomed the Angels are doing their very best to mess with the youngster's psyche.

Smart teams protect their top prospects by keeping them in comfortable roles and giving them runway once they decide to challenge them with a big league promotion. Instead, the Angels are treating him as a journeyman Quad-A arm, the type that is easily disposable and replaceable.

Given the club's horrendous track record at developing starting pitching, it's fair to wonder if they have any clue as to what their doing with Dana who is a critical piece to their future. All signs point to no, and they better hope that they aren't damaging their prized prospect beyond repair with the nonsensical call ups.

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