Circle back to April 30, 2019: Los Angeles Angels executives from all branches of the front office lined the field behind the batting cage at Angel Stadium with eager anticipation. A homegrown pitcher was going to throw the first pitch of the game.

The reason for the excitement was because in the Angels scenario, this had not happened in nearly eight years.

Griffin Canning was set to make his major league debut as the starting pitcher, 2,820 days after Garrett Richards made his major league debut as a starter on August 10, 2011. No one in between those two dates had been drafted by the Angels, developed by the Angels and had their major league debut come as a starting pitcher with the Angels.

There were some caveats, with minor league trade acquisitions, international signees and non-drafted free agents. But in bulk, the Angels went almost eight years without drafting a pitcher and developing him into an immediate rotation member.

Canning began a trend of starting pitchers over the last half decade following in the likes of Cooper Criswell, Reid Detmers and Chase Sileth all making their debuts as starting pitchers while originally being drafted by the Angels in some capacity.

The next projected young man in line comes in the likes of a 20-year-old right-hander now pitching, and performing well, in Double-A is Caden Dana.

Next in line for Angels?

For those who are avid followers of the organization, Dana is not an unfamiliar name. He was an 11^th-round pick in 2022 who signed for a record post-10^th-round bonus of $1,497,500 – around the same slot value as a mid-second-round selection that year.

He spent his first two months after the draft in Arizona at the Complex League affiliate and finished his time there with a do-or-die start to attempt clinching a playoff berth and followed that with a quick one-game assignment to Low-A Inland Empire.

He broke onto the prospect scene in 2023 with a loud performance across both Single-A affiliates, with a 3.56 ERA over 14 combined starts, before being shutdown with what the club would call “workload management.”

Praised for his dedication to both his craft on the mound and his work ethic off the field, Dana spent the winter preparing his body for a full season of work.

"Last year, I didn't pitch the last month-and-a-half," Dana said. "Going into the season, I was prioritizing my health and my recovery which is a huge factor. I put that on myself this off-season.

"Whenever I had a meeting, that was my main focus of what I talked about. How can I pitch in October, or go into August feeling strong?"

Impressing with both his advanced feel for pitching, maturity on the mound, and rare physical traits, Dana was invited to spring training as a member of the big-league roster, where he continued to shine and was given an aggressive assignment out of camp to Double-A Rocket City.

"We have certainly been aggressive moving players through the system when we see they have earned it and when they are ready for it," said Angels director of player development Joey Prebynski. "Caden, going back to when he was drafted, is someone we looked at from a character and makeup standpoint as someone we could be aggressive with."

Through his first seven starts of this season with the Trash Pandas, Dana was one of the Southern League's youngest players and one of the best on-mound performers. He posted a 2.20 ERA, .154 batting-average-against and 0.829 WHIP over 41 innings.

Potentially the only flaws to his game — and one that draws attention to big league evaluators — is that he wasn't missing bats at a high clip or executing his fastball consistently. He had a modest 7.5 K/9 and 21.8 K%, right around what would be considered league-average at the major league level.

Going into still simple, but more complex data than K% of K/9, Called Strikes + Swinging Strikes Percentage (CSW%) is a newer measure over the past half decade that gives a better calculation to how a pitcher misses bats throughout the course of a full workload, compared to isolating just his strikeout rates.

Through those same seven starts to begin the year, Dana held a 26.1 CSW%, slightly below league-average and just above what may be considered poor at the highest levels of baseball.

Change in Ks

However, on May 21 there was a notable change in the bat-missing metrics. Across four innings and 85 pitches, Dana had 12 called strikes and 16 swinging strikes, leading to a game 32.9 CSW%.

The next outing: 37.0 CSW%. That carried on into his most recent appearance, with a combined 65 called strikes and 77 swinging strikes on 369 pitches, for a 30.3 CSW%, a marker above league-average and more rounded numbers towards missing bats at a frequent clip.

When a meaningful change occurs in the data, such as an improved strikeout rate and CSW%, you look towards the development of the player and what changes he has made over the course of time. For a 20-year-old in Double-A who is a few short steps from the Majors, you look with even more intentful eyes beyond just the acclamation to the league.

One such occurrence came in the form of new-found velocity to his primary breaking ball, a slider with late depth and cut that has become harder in shape and velocity, beginning the year ranging 82-84 mph to averaging 87 and touching 90.

"I've been playing around with my slider a lot," said Dana. "Obviously when you're focusing on a new pitch it's more about command and it can kind of run away from you. That's the only thing I've really been changing."

The higher register velocity of the breaking ball isn't the only difference to the slider as the club has encouraged Dana to begin working on new shape and alterations of the pitch.

"The velocity has ticked up and that's something we've been encouraged with," Prebynski said of Dana's slider. "We are working to try and manipulate the shape a little bit. Toyed and played around with it."

While improving the power and command to his new slider, Dana continues to perform at a high clip while missing bats more frequently, showing an ability to not only keep his walk rates down but also working deeper into games. Over his last three starts, he has worked beyond the sixth inning in each outing and has gone over the century mark on pitch counts in each of his last two starts.

"I think things are just starting to refine themselves a little bit," said Trash Pandas manager Andy Schatzley. "The quality of the lineups he has seen and the better hitters he faces, the more refined his command and pitchability and stuff is.

"I think you are just seeing him start to acclimate to the level and it's part of his maturity process."

Added Prebynski: "He added a little more power to the slider over the last couple of weeks but also, it's his fastball executive. The ability to work both north and south in the zone is where we've seen the strikeout rates tick up a little bit."

It takes an Angels village

As he has climbed the development ladder, Dana has hit each step in stride while also performing. Through 12 starts in Double-A, he has a 2.31 ERA which ranks seventh best among qualified pitchers in the Southern League. He has developed his breaking ball and fastball into truer swing-and-miss weapons. And he continues to work deeper into games as the season goes on.

A positive aid to Dana is not only his experienced pitching coaches (Michael Wuertz and Doug Henry) but also the pair of backstops who have caught each pitch of his 2024 season. Journeymen Caleb Hamilton and Tyler Payne both received cups of coffee in the majors, but have combined for 634 games caught in professional baseball, giving their young pitcher experience you rarely see in the preliminary stages of a pro career.

"Doug and Michael are the best pitching coaches I could ask for," Dana said. "I'm talking to them about my mental state more than my pitch metrics. Kind of put the crap aside with them which is great because that is how I am. I'm not fully on baseball when talking to them. I want to talk about things and keep it simpler that way and they are two really good coaches and they back it up with their careers. They are two great people to have, and I enjoy talking to them about anything because they both have a lot of knowledge and have seen it all.

"It's kind of cool that (Caleb Hamilton and Tyler Payne) have been in this league and they know the approach these hitters take. They know what they are looking for. It's cool having them behind the plate and there is a lot of trust that goes into that."

With the progressive strides, steady performance, and off-field qualities, there is question as to what would be next in terms of development at the Double-A level for Dana. He is acclimating, or has acclimated, to the level. He has a consistent preparation and recovery process. He has no innings limit placed on him and is set to pitch through the full course of the 2024 season.

"Caden doesn't have to take a backseat to anybody in any capacity," Schatzley said. "He is physically impressive and super talented, but I'm telling you, it's the mental piece for me.

"He takes everything in stride. He doesn't read too much into success and he just learns from failure. The level of discipline with everything on and off the field. His diet, his routine, his recovery, his physical development -- for me, that has a chance to be the biggest separator for him moving forward."

Next stop: majors?

Could the next step be a move towards a higher development level or a spot in the Angels' major league rotation?

The Angels have been aggressive in the past few seasons promoting players to the majors from Double-A. 12 players in total have made the leap from 2022-24 in the likes of Logan O'Hoppe, Zach Neto, Nolan Schanuel, Chase Silseth and others. Could Dana be next?

"I stopped thinking about it," Dana professed. "It is easy to think about stuff like that, and with this organization and how we move guys up and how fast we do it.

"That's been the biggest challenge for me. To keep my mind planted where my feet are. I'm not really focused on that. I'm here to win with Rocket City right now. If it happens, it happens. That is a lifelong dream of mine, but I'm trying to win where my feet are."

Schatzley has seen 12 different players he managed from 2022-24 make the jump from Rocket City to the Angels.

"You don't want to compare people," he said. "You don't want to compare people. You don't want to gauge readiness.

"When you look at the three parts of each player -- that's kind of the way it is organized for me -- every player has a physical component, a mental component, and emotional component to them; and Caden is as solid as anybody we have right now or anybody that we have ever had."

Added Prebynski: "Caden has performed well in Double-A to start the year and he is going to continue to get reps. We will kind of see where Caden takes it from here, but he has certainly embraced the opportunity that he's got and has performed well. We will see how he continues to perform the last few months of the year."

Whether the next step for Dana comes in just finishing a full season in development or spending some time in the majors, the whirlwind and grind of the minors is a dream for the young right-hander and top prospects in the Angels organization. One that he fully embraces and has the support of his development staff.

"Going into pro ball, I thought it was a long and slow process and I was ready for it," Dana said. "Then I saw what happened last year and thought this might be a little quicker. That kind of changed my approach but I'm still dreaming like it is a long process.

"The minor leagues are a grind. Some of these guys have pitched over 500 innings in the minors and haven't set foot in the big leagues yet. It is a grind and I know it's a long journey and that's the best part of it. Just making it fun along the way."