LOS ANGELES, CA: Pitching prospect Caden Dana of the Angels will start Sunday's game against the Mariners, the team announced. To add him to the 40-man and active rosters, the team will need to make equivalent changes. Before the formal release, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register broke the story on X. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN on X, the team will also promote left-hander Samuel Aldegheri, who is scheduled to pitch on Friday. Aldegheri is not on the 40-man roster, similar to Dana, so the team will need to make equivalent adjustments to make room for him.
Dana, who is now 22 years old, attended Ramsey, New Jersey's Don Bosco Preparatory High School. He is the 76th player available in the 2022 draft, according to Baseball America. BA observed that despite not having turned 19 yet, he was already hitting the mid-90s with his fastball. They predicted he might be signed in the first two rounds, but because of signability issues pertaining to his Kentucky commitment, he remained unsigned far longer than anticipated.
In the end, the Angels selected him in the eleventh round (328th overall). According to MLB.com, they awarded him a signing bonus of $1,497,500, setting a record for a player selected after the tenth round. They were able to do this by conserving a portion of their bonus pool by offering below-slot deals to other players they drafted.
In the months that followed that draft pick, Dana made a fleeting professional debut; but, in 2023, he made a more official debut. Between Single-A and High-A, he had 14 starts last season, throwing 68 1/3 innings and giving up 3.56 earned runs per nine. Although his walk rate of 10.7% was a little high, he also struck out 31.7% of batters he faced. He has thrown 135 2/3 innings with a 2.52 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, and 7.3% walk rate in 23 Double-A starts here in 2024.
Although Aldegheri, a 22-year-old, had a far less conventional route to the majors, it's still an aggressive promotion. His odd journey to the majors was covered by Matt Gelb of The Athletic back in the spring. He was born and raised in Verona, Italy.
He signed a $210K bonus with the Phillies as part of their 2019 international class. He has since put up impressive numbers and established himself as a prospect, and the Angels were impressed enough to acquire him in the deal that sent Carlos Estévez the other way at the deadline.
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