PEORIA, Ariz. — While it was merely a mound, out of sight from the public, that Angels right-hander Caden Dana stepped on Tuesday, it felt like the top of a mountain.
After arriving at spring training at the start of February with a persistent fever and fatigue that ultimately was diagnosed as mononucleosis, Dana threw from a mound for the first time since arriving in the desert.
There was nobody in the batter’s box during the short bullpen session, while the mound was mere yards from the back door of the team’s Arizona facility, and yet Dana felt competitive again. In fact, he was so upbeat with the short morning session that he was eager to intensify the challenges.
“I definitely feel ready. I definitely feel on track,” Dana said when asked how soon he might be able to get into a spring game. “I definitely don’t want to rush this process because I definitely don’t want anything bad to happen down the road, so I’m going to trust the Angels here and trust their timeline with me.”
Dana’s throwing session was one of multiple appearances Tuesday that highlighted the next generation of Angels pitchers.
Shortly after Dana threw, right-hander Tyler Bremner faced hitters on a back field, giving last year’s No. 2 overall draft pick a chance to show off his new slider. In the afternoon, right-hander George Klassen started in the Cactus League game against the Seattle Mariners.
Dana, though, is the only one of the three with major-league experience. His 10 appearances (eight starts) over the previous two seasons with the Angels show that he still has work to do. But still just 22, he is likely to get even more of a chance this season.
That chance probably will not happen immediately after the team breaks camp later his month, but Dana wasn’t about to put any restrictions on when he might be ready to contribute.
“I felt right where I left off to be honest,” Dana said about where he was at the end of January to where his full arsenal of pitches felt Tuesday. “I didn’t really think there were any bumps in the road there. I felt really good coming into camp.”
Only when Dana’s health started to improve did the Angels let him play catch to keep his arm loose. Those flat-ground sessions ramped up in intensity quickly and included breaking pitches.
“I was coming in later in the day and was able to get in my throwing and spin and stay up to date,” he said. “I know that was going to be important because I knew when I started feeling better I didn’t what to have to build up throwing again.”
Another key was that despite his illness, Dana estimated he lost maybe one pound at most.
“It was definitely easy to keep my weight up when I live with Ben Joyce and Logan O’Hoppe,” Dana said, alluding to a backyard grill that has been in constant use most days. “… I definitely think if I had lost a lot of weight, this would be a lot tougher recovery.”
SLIDING INTO ACTION
Not only did Bremner not pitch last season after he was drafted in the first round, he has kept a low profile in camp as he refines a slider under the guidance of pitching coach Mike Maddux.
In his pitching session Tuesday, while facing Angels hitters Nolan Schanuel and Denzer Guzman, Bremner touched 98 mph with a fastball while adding in a changeup and what he estimated to be “seven or eight” sliders.
“First time seeing hitters in a couple of weeks and I felt like I wanted to fill up the zone a little more than I did, but my stuff felt fine,” the UC Santa Barbara alum said. “I felt like I was getting some outs.”
Bremner said he has not been told if any Cactus League game action is in his near future. The Angels leave Arizona on March 21 and the Freeway Series against the Dodgers ends March 24.
“Obviously I want to get in a game but that’s not entirely up to me,” Bremner said. “Whatever they tell me, I’m going to do.”
There were no fielders and no umpire as Bremner faced the two hitters in a constant rotation. But Maddux was right behind the mound the entire time, standing behind a screen.
“He’s telling me, based on swings, what pitches he wants me to throw,” Bremner said of Maddux. “That’s something I need to get used to and try to learn. I get in a habit sometimes of competing, trying to throw nasty stuff. And that is important too, reading swings and knowing what kind of pitches work against what guys.”