Fastball

Los Angeles Angels' Rookie Joins Rare Team History in Season Debut

The Los Angeles Angels shut out the Detroit Tigers on Thursday behind a history-making performance from rookie Davis Daniel.

Brady Farkas

Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Davis Daniel (58) throws against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Angel Stadium on June 27.
Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Davis Daniel (58) throws against the Detroit Tigers during the first inning at Angel Stadium on June 27. / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
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The Los Angeles Angels shut out the Detroit Tigers 5-0 on Thursday night in Anaheim. With the win, the Halos improve to 34-46 on the season while the loss drops the Tigers to a disappointing 37-44.

The story of the night was Angels' rookie Davis Daniel, who put together a stellar season debut. The rookie tossed 8.0 scoreless innings, surrendering just four hits and no walks. He struck out eight.

A seventh-round pick out of Auburn in the 2019 draft, Daniel threw in three games as a reliever for the Angels in 2023. His performance on Thursday joined a rare group in Angels team history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

scoreless start of 8+ IP in first MLB start, Angels history:

Today Davis Daniel
8/21/69 Steve Kealey (SHO)
9/6/68 Andy Messersmith (SHO)
9/26/64 Bill Kelso (SHO)

Daniel is currently the No. 26 prospect in the Angels organization. Here's a portion of his MLB.com prospect profile:

There’s not a ton of ceiling with Daniel because he lacks true wow stuff, but he does have a legitimate four-pitch mix and knows how to use it when he’s healthy. His fastball sits around 92 mph, but it gets more swings and misses in the zone than you’d expect thanks to high spin rates. His mid-70s curve provides a solid north-south option, and he can bury it down in the zone. His low-80s slider is a solid pitch, and while it’s a bit behind the others, he does have a mid-80s changeup that can be effective.

The Angels and Tigers play again on Friday night with first pitch coming at 9:38 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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