By Ross Vocaturo ’25
RAMSEY, NJ – On September 1, 2024, Los Angeles Angels top prospect Caden Dana (‘22) made his MLB debut against the Seattle Mariners. Dana, a RHP Kentucky-commit out of Warwick, became just the third recorded Don Bosco Prep alumni to play in an MLB game (joining C.J. Nitkowski (‘91) and Jason Vosner (‘11)).
Dana’s debut came in a Sunday matinee rubber match against a Seattle team eyeing up an AL West title (the Angels postseason hopes are all but over). Earlier in the series, the Angels watched another top prospect of theirs make his debut: LHP Samuel Aldegheri getting the bump two nights before in a loss. While Dana was widely viewed as a top recruit at Bosco, it wasn’t until the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft where Dana landed in Southern California. Many cited Dana’s commitment to play college ball as a red flag; otherwise, Dana would have been drafted much earlier. Nonetheless, landing in a depleted farm system such as the Angels (considered one of the worst in MLB) allowed Dana to climb the rankings up until inevitably becoming the organization’s number one prospect (according to MLB Pipeline) prior to the 2024 MLB season.
After jumping back and forth from A+ ball leagues, Dana landed a spot in the Rocket City Trash Pandas’ Rotation, the AA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. In 23 starts with the Trash Pandas, Dana posted a 2.52 ERA with 147 strikeouts in 135.2 innings pitched, his ERA being the best in the rotation by almost an entire run. His near-instant success at a semi-competitive level of baseball led to his call up to the majors, a season prior to his 2025 estimated time of arrival (ETA).
As for his debut itself, with the division rival Mariners in town, a Seattle team with playoff hopes still on the horizon, Dana and the Angels had nothing to play for aside from a chance to play spoiler. At 1:00 PM (PST) first pitch, Dana took the mound in front of 39,000 fans, some of whom were Dana’s close family, friends, and coaches. Seattle’s Victor Robles stepped up to the plate, and after two pitches, Dana had his first recorded MLB out, a flyout to right field. Dana only needed 12 pitches to get through the first, the third out being a strikeout to Cal Raleigh, the Mariners’ premiere hitter this season.
The Angels lineup gave Dana some run support just two pitches in, when outfielder Taylor Ward sent one to the seats for a leadoff home run off Bryce Miller. Angels shortstop Zach Neto was able to draw a walk before Miller got out the inning only giving up the one run. Dana came out for the second, with Randy Arozarena leading off the inning; Arozarena made a name for himself in 2020 during his phenomenal run in the postseason with Tampa Bay. The newly-acquired Mariner grounded one to third for a one-pitch first out. Dana was able to get his second before allowing his first hit and run, a solo homer off the bat of Luke Raley.
In the third inning, Dana would give up another run, a sacrifice fly from Victor Robles driving in Josh Rojas off a leadoff ground-rule double. The fourth saw him give up a leadoff walk, but get out of it unscathed with a rollover double play from Jorge Polanco. In the 5th, Dana managed to get the first two outs before walking back-to-back batters, only to tally a crucial strikeout to get out of the jam. In the bottom half of the inning, Anthony Rendon (former World Series winning third baseman on the Nationals-turned recipient of one of the worst contracts in all of baseball) brought in two runs on a single up the middle, flipping the scoreboard and giving Los Angeles a 3-2 lead, putting Dana in line for the win. After coming back out for the 6th, and getting two fly outs and a backwards “K,” Dana’s day was done at 95 pitches; his final line: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K. And due to the score not changing for the rest of the game, Dana was credited with the win, making him the youngest Angels pitcher to win his debut.
Dana’s heavily anticipated debut delivered, and for Angels fans across the country, there’s a reason to have some hope for a fanbase that’s been hopeless more often than not. And for Ironmen past and present, Dana joins a list of many former Ironmen to make it to the big stage; and if his debut was any preview of what’s to come, he could be a face of the Angels’ rotation for years to come.