Angels' two historic call-ups provide excitement amid another brutal season

The Los Angeles Angels are nearing the end of yet another disappointing season that will almost certainly end with them missing the playoffs.

That doesn't mean that Halos fans can't still get excited about late-summer baseball in southern California, though.

The team announced on Thursday that it was promoting top pitching prospect Caden Dana to the show for his MLB debut on Sunday. It was also reported that Los Angeles was calling up pitching prospect Sam Aldegheri for his first taste of the big leagues, likely on Friday.

The pair of transactions will make two different kinds of history, both within the organization and, in Aldegheri's case, in all of baseball.

As ESPN's Jeff Passan noted, Aldegheri landed with the Angels in late August , days before the trade deadline. The southpaw was sent over from the Philadelphia Phillies along with fellow pitching prospect George Klassen in exchange for 2023 All-Star closer Carlos Estevez.

Passan further pointed out that Los Angeles has called up prospects "aggressively" and has had recent success with reliever Ben Joyce and shortstop Zach Neto.

The right-handed flamethrower made his big league debut last May, less than one year after being selected in the third round of the 2022 draft. Joyce closed out Thursday's 3-0 victory against the Detroit Tigers and moved into fifth place on the team with 10 games finished in 2023.

Neto was the 13th overall draft pick in 2022 and made it to the show in April 2023. Following his nine-home run and 34-RBI showing over 84 games last year, Neto's had a breakout second campaign in 2024.

He entered Thursday leading the team in games played (129), runs scored (57), hits (114), doubles (28), home runs (19), RBI (64), slugging percentage (.448), OPS (.766) and total bases (201), while ranking second in stolen bases (23). Neto clubbed a two-run home run in the win over Detroit, putting his name in the franchise record book.