TEMPE, Ariz. -- The future was on display Saturday night, as MLB¡¯s Spring Breakout showcase arrived at Tempe Diablo Stadium with a matchup between top prospects from the Angels¡¯ and Dodgers¡¯ organizations.

The Angels dropped this unique version of the Freeway Series, 8-1, but there were plenty of positives players and coaches took away from the event.

Dana stands tall
Angels No. 3 prospect Caden Dana cuts an imposing figure on the mound, listed at 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds with flowing blonde locks and arm tats that makes the all-too-familiar Noah Syndergaard comps perhaps a little too on the nose.

The 20-year-old got the start and lived up to the hype with three strikeouts in two hitless and scoreless innings, his only blemish a walk of Dodgers top prospect Dalton Rushing.

¡°I think I was in control. Command was good,¡± he said. ¡°That was one thing I wanted to focus on today, just throwing strikes.¡±

Dana was also impressed with his catcher, 18-year-old Juan Flores, who had never caught him in a game.

¡°He only caught me once before, maybe, in like a bullpen or something,¡± he said. ¡°He was good. He¡¯s got potential to be really good.¡±

Dana made three appearances at big league Spring Training before being sent to Minor League camp, so he¡¯s familiar with the bigger stage, but the Spring Breakout event still offered a special experience.

¡°I think it was just cool going against the prospects from another team,¡± he said. ¡°For our guys to get their names out there, it was a good opportunity, so I think it was a good event.¡±

Has he tired of hearing the Thor comps?

¡°Yeah, we gotta switch it up,¡± he joked. ¡°I think Achilles is more accurate.¡±

Rada doesn¡¯t disappoint
Angels No. 2 prospect Nelson Rada is 18 years old and already in his third professional season. The center fielder turned heads at big league camp with his bat-to-ball skills and elite speed on the basepaths, and he added to that resume on Saturday with a first-inning single and swipe of second base off the highly touted Rushing, who was behind the dish for the Dodgers.

¡°Nelson¡¯s a great kid. He works extremely hard,¡± said Angels Minor League infield coordinator Joe Kruzel, who was acting manager for Spring Breakout. ¡°He has a knack of putting the ball in play. He finds some holes. ... He¡¯s really exciting to watch.¡±

Rada had 55 stolen bases in 115 games last season in his first year of Single-A.

¡°That¡¯s a thing we try to preach, guys being aggressive on the bases, taking some chances and forcing the other team to stop us,¡± Kruzel said. ¡°Especially Rada, a guy at the top of our order gets on base and has an opportunity to cause some havoc out there and put some pressure on the defense.¡±

Another teen steps up
Flores, who¡¯s almost six months younger than young Rada, didn¡¯t just impress Dana with his work behind the dish. The club¡¯s No. 22 prospect also showed he can contribute with the bat and on the basepaths. He singled off No. 8 Dodgers prospect Jackson Ferris before stealing second base in the third inning.

¡°When you look at that [Dana-Flores] battery,¡± Kruzel said, ¡°that¡¯s a couple young kids I can see being in Anaheim in a couple of years.¡±

Flores, who spent last season in the Dominican Summer League, didn¡¯t have a lot of experience with the five pitchers he caught in his six innings.

¡°It¡¯s a little difficult because one of the biggest things between a catcher and pitcher is communication,¡± Flores said via an interpreter. ¡°So when we don¡¯t have that experience together, it adds a challenge.¡±

Nevertheless, Kruzel was happy with what he saw from Flores.

¡°For a young kid, he does an extremely good job of being able to catch and receive and block the baseball,¡± Kruzel said. ¡°And also he¡¯s got a plus arm, and that will derail some teams from trying to steal on him.¡±

Wash can¡¯t get enough
All week, Ron Washington said he planned to grab a shower after the Angels¡¯ early Cactus League game before watching the Spring Breakout from the stands, but the broadcast caught him still in uniform chopping it up in the dugout in the early innings.

¡°Ron¡¯s a hands-on guy,¡± Kruzel said. ¡°If you get up early enough and you go out on the backfields or on the half field, Ron¡¯s out there doing the work. I mean, you gotta have a lot of respect for that.

¡°Hopefully, we can keep it going with our guys in the Minor League system, getting them prepared, and when they go up there, they know what they¡¯re getting with Ron.¡±

But Saturday was Kruzel¡¯s turn in the big chair.

¡°It¡¯s always exciting to manage. I mean, you get a different vibration,¡± he said. ¡°To be able to do that and represent our organization, I feel very blessed and honored.¡±