• Jeff Passan, ESPNAug 29, 2024, 04:25 PM ET

    Close

      ESPN MLB insider
      Author of “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports”

Left-hander Sam Aldegheri will become the first pitcher born and raised in Italy to play in Major League Baseball when he starts for the Los Angeles Angels against the Seattle Mariners on Friday night.

The Angels announced Thursday that Aldegheri will make the start and that 20-year-old right-hander Caden Dana, their top prospect, will be called up to start Sunday against the Mariners.

The aggressive promotions continue Los Angeles’ trend of pushing its best young players to the major leagues on timelines far more rapid than other major league teams. Shortstop Zach Neto, the 13th pick in the 2022 draft, debuted two weeks into the 2023 season. Right-hander Ben Joyce, the 105 mph-throwing reliever, was in the big leagues a month later and locked down Los Angeles’ closing job recently. First baseman Nolan Schanuel arrived in the big leagues 40 days after the Angels took him with the 11th pick last season.

Aldegheri, 22, was signed out of Verona, Italy, by the Philadelphia Phillies for $210,000 in July 2019. While his fastball sits in the low-90s, he managed a breakout season this year by striking out 109 in 78 innings across Class A and Double A with Philadelphia. The Phillies then traded Aldegheri and hard-throwing right-hander George Klassen to Los Angeles for reliever Carlos Estevez last month.

After four more starts at Double A for the Angels, during which he struck out 25 in 17.1 innings and posted a 5.19 ERA, Aldegheri was summoned by the Angels. He will need to be added to the team’s 40-man roster.

While other pitchers born in Italy have thrown in the major leagues, all of them moved to the United States at young ages. Infielder Alex Liddi played for the Mariners from 2011 to 2013, becoming the first player born and raised in Italy to reach the big leagues.

Dana, 20, was an 11th-round pick in the 2022 draft out of Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey and signed for around $1.5 million. With a strapping 6-foot-4 frame and a mid-90s fastball, he has carved through Double-A hitting this season, posting a 2.52 ERA over 23 starts with 147 strikeouts, 39 walks and only 10 home runs allowed in 135.2 innings.