Caden Dana really should not have been at the All-Star Futures Game.
But there he was, broadly smiling, with an enormous wooden trunk in front of his locker. The trunk took up a fair amount of space, and it attracted a fair amount of attention.
It was a gift — not a gift every player received, but one just for him, a special treat from the agency that represents him. Inside the box: a black cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and golf shoes.
“They know what to get me,” Dana said, grinning.
Dana is the Angels’ top prospect. He is their only top-100 prospect, the jewel of a minor league system ranked as baseball’s worst.
He is a big, strapping right-handed pitcher, an infusion of talent for a major league team in need of infusions of talent.
Angels prospect Caden Dana sits in the locker room before the MLB All-Star Futures Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday.
(Bill Shaikin / Los Angeles Times)
Under General Manager Perry Minasian, the Angels have not been shy about promoting players with limited minor league experience from double A directly to the major leagues, including catcher Logan O’Hoppe, shortstop Zach Neto, first baseman Nolan Schanuel and reliever Ben Joyce.
The Angels needed a starting pitcher this week They called down to double A. They summoned someone who was not Dana.
That left Dana available for the Futures Game. Dana pitched one inning, giving up one run — on a home run — and striking out one.
Instead of promoting Dana last week, the fourth-place Angels called upon Jack Kochanowicz, who made his major league debut Thursday. He lasted three innings and gave up five runs in an 11-0 loss.
At double-A Rocket City, Dana had a 2.99 ERA with opponents batting .194. Kochanowicz had a 4.55 ERA, with opponents batting .261.
In his last five starts, Kochanowicz had a 1.85 ERA, including two complete games. When asked Saturday if he were disappointed that he had not been called up, Dana said nothing about himself and talked only about Kochanowicz.
“Jack’s been pitching well all year,” Dana said. “I know his numbers might not say it, but he’s a good dude. He belongs up there. His past five outings speak for themselves. He’s cleaned a lot of things up. He’s good.
“I think he’s going to come back in his second outing and shove.”
Minasian did not rule out calling up Dana later this season but said the Angels are exercising caution with him.
Dana, 20, pitched eight professional innings after signing out of high school in 2022 and pitched 68 innings last year. He is at 90 innings already this year.
“We don’t have a certain cap or number on it,” Minasian said. “We’ll go start by start. But we don’t want him to go from 68 innings to 180.”
In his three minor league seasons, Dana has pitched a total of 167 professional innings.
“We believe he’s going to be an impactful starter,” Minasian said. “We want to make sure he is fully formed.”
With the Angels’ track record of pushing their top prospects, does Dana anticipate making his major league debut sooner rather than later?
“I kind of shy away from that thought,” he said. “It’s definitely crossed my mind here and there, but I definitely try to block it out. I like to keep things simple. I like to win where I’m at.”