Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey has had 11 players drafted in school history, but none have made it to the big leagues and no one from the high school program has been selected since 2012. Dana, a big, strong, hard-throwing right-hander, hopes to change that after throwing well at summer showcase events like Perfect Game National and matching up against top high school pitching prospect Dylan Lesko at this year’s National High School Invitational.
The two main things that stand out about Dana are his size and his arm strength. The 6-foot-5 right-hander reminds some of Noah Syndergaard on the mound, both in terms of his physicality and his flowing locks. Dana has been up to 95 mph consistently this spring and touched higher than that in shorter stints last summer, showing the ability to hold his velocity deep into outings. His fastball can straighten out at times, and his ability to land his curve -- a hard downer thrown around 75-76 mph that flashes plus -- for strikes more consistently will keep hitters from cheating on the fastball. He does have a changeup, but it will need work at the next level.
Dana tends to command his fastball pretty well and when he’s on top and out front with his breaking ball, it’s a real bat-misser, but like with a lot of young power pitchers, his command will need refinement. It’s easy to dream on more in the tank velocity-wise from this Kentucky recruit, the kind of projection that could have him taken in the first several rounds of the Draft.
The Angels’ ability to save money in the first 10 rounds of the 2022 Draft left them with some cash to be aggressive at the start of Day 3. Dana, a New Jersey high school standout, was considered to be a top four-round talent, but slid because of his commitment to Kentucky. The Angels went over the $125,000 slot in the 11th round more than tenfold, giving Dana $1.5 million to sign. While operating on a limited workload to ease him into pro ball, Dana still quickly made it up to High-A for most of his 2023 starts.
Dana is polished for a high school pitcher, especially one from a cold-weather state, already showing that he has an idea of what he wants to do on the mound. He has the potential for a three, or maybe four, pitch mix. His fastball averaged around 94 mph and topped out at 96 in 2023 and it’s not hard to see his 6-foot-4 frame and dream of more consistent velocity to come. He entered pro ball as a curveball guy, and he still has it, but his focus has turned to a slider with depth which has the chance to be an above-average pitch. He’s still working on the changeup, and it’s clearly his fourth pitch coming off a year that was fastball-slider heavy.
For someone his size -- he’s elicited comps to Noah Syndergaard both for his frame and his hair -- he does a decent job staying around the zone and strike-throwing shouldn’t be an obstacle in the future. The gloves could come off a bit in 2024, and especially if his stuff ticks up, he can reach his ceiling as a mid-rotation starter.
Given Dana’s size -- he’s 6-foot-4 -- and arm strength, the New Jersey high school product had several teams interested as the 2022 Draft approached. When he didn’t go in the top 10 rounds, most felt he was heading to the University of Kentucky for college ball. But the Angels had other ideas and bonus pool money available, so they grabbed him at the start of Day 3 in Round 11 and went way over slot to sign him for $1.5 million. He made his brief pro debut in the Arizona Complex League and got a bump up to full-season ball to close out the year.
Dana received Noah Syndergaard comps in high school, partially because of his strong, physical frame and partially because of his Thor-like flowing locks. He has the chance to have a power arsenal as well, with a fastball that gets up to the mid-90s regularly and can touch a bit higher and velocity he’s shown he can hold deep into starts. His mid-70s curve is a hard downer that has the potential to be a plus pitch, especially if he can command it better. He’s shown a little feel for a changeup, but like with a lot of prep power arms, he didn’t need it much in high school.
For a big teenaged right-hander, Dana does a solid job of being around the zone, with decent fastball command, and when he stays on top of the breaking ball, it’s an out pitch. He needs reps and pro instruction to add polish to go along with his power arsenal and physicality. If it all clicks, he could pitch in the middle of a big league rotation in the future.
A big, strong, hard-throwing right-hander from New Jersey, Dana became the 12th player in Don Bosco Prep history to be drafted and hopes to be the first to make it to the big leagues after the Angels took him in the 11th round of the 2022 Draft. The club went way over slot with a $1.5 million bonus to sign him away from his commitment to the University of Kentucky. Dana had jumped on the map by throwing well at summer showcase events like Perfect Game National and matching up against first-rounder Dylan Lesko at this year’s National High School Invitational.
The two main things that stand out about Dana are his size and his arm strength. The 6-foot-4 right-hander reminds some of Noah Syndergaard on the mound, both in terms of his physicality and his flowing locks. Dana has been up to 95 mph consistently this spring and touched higher than that in shorter stints last summer, showing the ability to hold his velocity deep into outings. His fastball can straighten out at times, and his ability to land his curve -- a hard downer thrown around 75-76 mph that flashes plus -- for strikes more consistently will keep hitters from cheating on the fastball. He does have a changeup, but it will need work at the next level.
Dana tends to command his fastball pretty well, and when he’s on top and out front with his breaking ball, it’s a real bat-misser. But like with a lot of young power pitchers, his command will need refinement. It’s easy to dream on more in the tank velocity-wise, the kind of projection the Angels are banking on.
How this works: Every pitch is affected by the forces of gravity,
which means that every pitch drops on its way from the mound to the plate.
These numbers are reported with gravity, which makes them larger and
different than other pitch movement numbers you may have seen. Since gravity
requires time, and slower pitches aren’t ‘better’ just because they have
more time to move, the movement of a pitch is compared to ‘average’ movement
by comparing it to other MLB pitch types within +/- 2 MPH and from within
+/- 0.5 feet of extension and release.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
Team
Avg HR Trot
Actual HR
xHR
HR-xHR
Doubters
Mostly Gone
No Doubters
No Doubter %
2024
21.8
5
4.8
0
0
3
2
40.0
Player
21.8
5
4.8
0
0
3
2
40.0
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2024
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
5
3
5
5
4
Player
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
5
3
5
5
4
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift:
three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of
their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about
how positioning is defined here