Deadspin | Angels continue to show off future against Rangers Trending Global News

The youth movement is in full swing for the Los Angeles Angels, and Caden Dana appears to be the latest piece of the puzzle.

The right-hander will make his second major league start Sunday afternoon in the final game of a four-game series between the Angels and the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.

Dana (1-0, 3.00 ERA) pitched brilliantly in his MLB debut last Sunday, limiting the Seattle Mariners to two runs and two hits over six innings in a 3-2 win.

“For his first big league start, the amount of information he had about the team’s lineup, the homework he did for this start, it was really impressive,” Angels catcher Matt Thaiss said.

Dana, who will turn 21 on Dec. 17, becomes the youngest pitcher to pitch for the Angels since Francisco Rodriguez in 2002, and the youngest since Frank Tanana in 1973.

“He proved to himself that he can pitch in the big leagues,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He pitched when he needed to. He used his fastball, he didn’t employ his breaking ball as consistently as he would have liked, but he employed it when he needed to.”

Dana made a splash in the Minors after being selected by the Angels (59-83) in the 11th round of the 2022 MLB Draft, posting a 12-12 record in 41 starts over three seasons with a 3.01 ERA with 244 strikeouts in 212 1/3 innings.

He most recently went 9-7 with a 2.52 ERA in 23 games for Double-A Rocket City, striking out 147 in 135 2/3 innings.

Veteran Andrew Heaney (4-13, 3.81 ERA) is scheduled to play the final game of the series for Texas (69-74). The left-hander is expected to be rewarded for his efforts despite going 0-2 in five starts in August, posting a 3.24 ERA for the month.

In his first game in September on Tuesday, he blanked the New York Yankees on three hits over five innings and left the field with a 1-0 lead, but the Yankees scored two runs in the seventh and eighth as Texas won 7-4.

“It seems like every year you have a player you have trouble scoring runs for, and he’s one such player,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of Heaney. “It happens almost every start, but it’s not indicative of how he’s throwing the ball because he’s given us a chance to win games consistently. We just have a hard time scoring runs for him.”

Heaney, who played for the Angels from 2015-21, is 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA in four games against his former team, including two starts.

He started against Los Angeles on May 17 and was the losing pitcher in a 9-3 setback. Heaney gave up three runs (two earned) and five hits, needing 83 pitches to reach 3 2/3 innings.

The Rangers won the first game of the three-game series 3-1 on Thursday night, the Angels won 5-1 on Friday, and Texas won 6-4 on Saturday.

Before Saturday’s game, Los Angeles placed outfielders Kevin Pillar (sprained left thumb) and Jo Adell (left oblique strain) on the 10-day injured list and recalled outfielders Bryce Teodosio and Jordan Adams from Triple-A Salt Lake.

Teodosio started in center field in his major league debut Saturday and went 0-3 with two strikeouts.

–Field Level Media