Nolan Schanuel Can Break Out for the Angels in 2025

The No. 11 overall pick in the 2023 draft has been good, but what does he need to do to become great?

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 17: Nolan Schanuel #18 of the Los Angeles Angels at bat during the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on September 17, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

The 2023 MLB draft was absolutely loaded. After the 2020 draft was shortened to five rounds due to the pandemic, more high school players than normal ended up heading off to college, making for a smorgasbord of available talent three years later.

Multiple first-round picks from that draft have already gone on to make their MLB debut. One member of the group has even already started an All-Star Game and won NL Rookie of the Year: No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes.

The group was so talented that one member made their MLB debut just weeks after he was drafted. That player was first baseman Nolan Schanuel of the Los Angeles Angels.

Schanuel, the 11th overall pick of the 2023 draft, was called up to the bigs on August 18th, 2023 and made his MLB debut the very same day. He was the first player in the league to debut the same year that he was drafted since pitcher Garrett Crochet three years earlier.

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Drafted out of Florida Atlantic University, Schanuel was one of the better on-base threats available in his draft class. In his three years at the school, he slashed a whopping .386/.516/.698 in 172 career games.

True to form, Schanuel began his MLB career by constantly getting on base. He began his career by reaching base in 30 straight games, a streak that stretched into the beginning of the 2024 season and was the third longest such stretch to begin a career in MLB history.

Schanuel’s first full MLB season in 2024 was solid, as he put up a .250/.343/.362 slash line and 104 wRC+ in 147 games. But as the Angels look to return to relevance, they’ll want their starting first baseman to be better than “solid.” They’ll want him to break out and be great.

Nolan Schanuel can have a breakout season in 2025, but he’ll need to step up in some areas.

As mentioned earlier, Schanuel’s strength is in his on-base skills. He has translated those skills into a .255 batting average and .354 on-base percentage in his short, 176-game career. Again, good, but could be great.

His advanced plate discipline metrics seem to show that he can make that leap. Schanuel posted elite numbers in 2024 as he finished among the league leaders in chase rate (21.5%, 91st percentile) and whiff rate (14.4%, 96th percentile), per Baseball Savant.

Schanuel also was far above average in walk rate (11.2%, 87th percentile) and strikeout rate (17%, 78th percentile). Those are very encouraging marks for a player in his first full MLB season. As he further adjusts to the league, they could get even better.

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Where he needs to step up even further is in the extra-base hit department. Schanuel posted good numbers in that department at FAU with 46 doubles, five triples, and 46 homers in his 172 college games, but that hasn’t yet translated to the majors.

Schanuel has 22 doubles, 14 homers, and no triples in his MLB career, good for just a .357 slugging percentage. That’s not too surprising, seeing that he has just a 3.3% barrel rate, 25.4% hard-hit rate, and 86 mph average exit velocity since he debuted.

He did make some small improvements from year one to year two, though. Schanuel increased his barrel rate by 1.3% and his average EV by 0.7 mph. He also increased his launch angle by 3.8 degrees, which helped his ground ball rate decrease by 4.9% and his fly ball rate increase by 4.7%.

Schanuel could further increase his value away from the plate as well. Though not known as a speedster, he did snag himself 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts last year.

In the field, he has posted negative run values in terms of outs above average (-9) and fielding run value (-7) in just over a year at first base. If Schanuel can improve in both areas, it would go a long way toward a 2025 breakout.

The Angels wouldn’t have drafted Nolan Schanuel so high if they didn’t think he possessed the ability to become one of the league’s better all-around players. The opportunity is there and the areas for improvement are clear. All that’s left for him to do is to take the next step.

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