| Nolan Schanuel | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Schanuel with the Los Angeles Angels in 2025 | |
| Los Angeles Angels – No. 18 | |
| First baseman /Outfielder | |
| Born: (2002-02-14)February 14, 2002 (age 24) Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 18, 2023, for the Los Angeles Angels | |
| MLB statistics (through 2025 season) | |
| Batting average | .259 |
| Home runs | 26 |
| Runs batted in | 113 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
Nolan Ryan Schanuel (/ˈʃænjuːɛl/SHAN-yew-el;[1] born February 14, 2002) is an American professionalbaseballfirst baseman andoutfielder for theLos Angeles Angels ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He playedcollege baseball for theFlorida Atlantic Owls.
Schanuel grew up in the South Florida city ofBoynton Beach and attendedPark Vista Community High School, where he emerged as a star baseball player. He played three seasons of college baseball at nearby Florida Atlantic, receiving national honors as one of the best players at the amateur level. Schanuel entered the2023 Major League Baseball draft with consideration as a top prospect and was selected in the first round by the Angels with the 11th overall pick. He made his major league debut 40 days later, the quickest debut for aposition player in 45 years.
Nolan Ryan Schanuel was born on February 14, 2002, inBoca Raton, Florida, to Ryan and Erin Schanuel.[2] The third word he ever learned was "ball", and he began hitting with a plastic baseball at 18 months old.[3]
Schanuel grew up inBoynton Beach, Florida and attendedPark Vista Community High School.[4][5] In 2018–19, his junior season, he posted a .446batting average with 12extra-base hits, 22runs batted in (RBIs), and 27runs scored. Following the season, he was named as a first-teamAll-American as an outfielder. On November 13, 2019, prior to the start of his 2019–20 senior season, Schanuel signed hisNational Letter of Intent to playcollege baseball for theFlorida Atlantic Owls.[6] In his final year at Park Vista, Schanuel was batting .520 with 10 RBIs and 14 runs scored before the remainder of the season was canceled in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic. In his high school baseball career, Schanuelstruck out only 16 times in 175at-bats, a strikeout rate of 9.14%.[2]
Schanuel enrolled atFlorida Atlantic University, 14 miles from his hometown, to playcollege baseball for theOwls ahead of the 2020–21 academic year. Prior to beginning with the Owls, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with the Boynton Beach Buccaneers of the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League, where he batted .269 with five RBIs in 23 games.[7]
In his freshman season at FAU, Schanuel playedfirst baseman for the first time in his career. He aided in an opening weekend series victory over the nationally rankedUCF Knights by going 8-for-15 (.533) with a home run and eight RBIs; he later was namedConference USA (C-USA) Hitter of the Week. He had a two-home run game on two occasions, first against theSeton Hall Pirates on February 27 and later against theCharlotte 49ers on April 4.
Schanuel finished his first season batting .343 with 11 home runs and 56 RBIs. He batted .409 with runners inscoring position andwalked (28) more than he struck out (21). At first base, he committed only twoerrors and posted a .996fielding percentage, the second-highest in FAU history. Following the season, he was named a freshman All-American by theCollegiate Baseball Newspaper andPerfect Game USA. He was also named to the all-conference second team.[2] He spent the summer with theBethesda Big Train of theCal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, batting .333 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in 24 games.[7]
Prior to his 2021–22 sophomore season, Schanuel was named a preseason All-American byPerfect Game USA. On April 5, he was named to theGolden Spikes Award midseason watchlist, awarded annually to the best player in college baseball.
Schanuel finished the season batting .369 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs.[8] He was named to the all-conference first team. In 2022, he playedcollegiate summer baseball with theHyannis Harbor Hawks of theCape Cod Baseball League, where he batted .200 with a home run and 11 RBIs in 36 games.[2][7][9]
Schanuel was named the C-USA preseason player of the year ahead of his 2022–23 junior season. On February 28, he had a two-home run game against theMiami Hurricanes. On March 7, he hit three home runs in a game against theFlorida Gators, the eventual2023 Men's College World Series runners-up, atCondron Ballpark inGainesville. Schanuel reached base safely in 54 consecutive games, the longest streak in all ofNCAA Division I that year.
Schanuel finished the season batting .447 with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs.[3] Following the season, Schanuel was selected as a first-team All-American by five different publications, includingCollegiate Baseball,Baseball America, and theAmerican Baseball Coaches Association. He was selected to the all-conference first team and was named the C-USA Player of the Year. Schanuel was one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award. His 71 walks was a new school record and his .615on-base percentage (OBP) was a new conference record.[2]
TheLos Angeles Angels selected Schanuel in the first round of the2023 Major League Baseball draft with the 11th overall pick.[10] He was the highest draft pick in Florida Atlantic baseball history and also was the first student-athlete in school history to be selected in the first round of a professional sports draft.[11] On July 13, Schanuel agreed to a slot-value signing bonus with the Angels, worth $5.253 million.[12]
On July 21, Schanuel was assigned to therookie-levelArizona Complex League Angels. He made his professional debut that day, going 2-for-3 with an RBI double, a run scored, and a stolen base against theACL Diamondbacks.
On July 25, Schanuel was promoted to theSingle–AInland Empire 66ers of theCalifornia League, and was promptly promoted to theDouble-ARocket City Trash Pandas of theSouthern League on July 28.[13][7] He slashed .339/.480/.475 with 16 walks, one home run and 12 RBIs in 16 games at Double-A.[14]
On August 18, 2023, Schanuel was selected to the Angels' major league roster directly fromDouble-A, only 40 days after he was drafted.[15][16] Schanuel's promotion was the fastest sinceAriel Prieto in 1995 and the fastest for aposition player sinceBrian Milner in 1978.[17]
Schanuel made his debut that day, becoming the first member of the 2023 MLB draft class to debut. In his first game, he scored his first career run on agrand slam hit byShohei Ohtani, recorded his first major league hit with asingle offJason Adam in the seventh inning, and helped turn atriple play in the ninth inning.[18]
Schanuel recorded a hit in each of his first ten games, setting an Angels franchise record for longest hitting streak to begin a career.[19] He reached base safely in all 29 games he played, setting a franchise record and tyingEnos Slaughter for the third-longest on-base streak to start a major league career.[20] Schanuel finished his abbreviated first season batting .275 with a home run and six RBIs in 109 at-bats.[21]
Before 2024 season, Schanuel was considered as one of the top prospects for the season, and also was one of the youngest players on Opening Day rosters.[22][23]
From the start of the season, Schanuel continued his on-base streak to begin a major league career, but it retroactively ended at 30 games after a scoring change on April 6. MLB changed his infield single on March 30 to a catching error. If not for this scoring change, his on-base streak would've extended to 36 games at the time. However, 30 games on-base streak to begin a career was the 3rd longest streak in MLB history, followingAlvin Davis' 47, andTruck Hannah's 38.[24] On May 20, Schanuel,Zach Neto,Logan O'Hoppe andJo Adell helped the Angels earn 9–7 win overthe Astros atMinute Made Park, marking the first time that the Angels received 4 home runs in one game from players 25 years old or younger. It was also the first time in MLB history a club had home runs from a 25-year-old, a 24-year-old, a 23-year-old and a 22-year-old in the same game.[25]
Schanuel slashed .250/.343/.362 with 13 home runs, 19 doubles and 54 RBIs in 147 games. In his first full season at the majors, his contact rate was high, but his bat speed, averaged 65.2 mph, was ranked as the fifth-slowest mark in the majors.[26]
On May 19, Schanuel went 3-for-4 with a home run and 2 doubles against theAthletics atSutter Health Park. It was his first career game with three extra-base hits.[27] On June 10, he hit his first walk-off hit in the 10th inning to lead the Angels to a 2–1 win against the Athletics at Angel Stadium.[28] On August 24, he was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left wrist contusion, and was activated on September 19.[29][30]
Schanuel is considered acontact hitter who tends to accruesingles at a higher rate than his peers.[31] Hisbatting stance is upright with his feet close to home plate, leading to a higher frequency of gettinghit by pitches. Schanuel holds his hands high with his bat raised vertically above his head, garnering comparisons toCraig Counsell's bat position. Because of the high position of his hands, Schanuel tends to make contact with the ball at more of a downward angle, leading to moreground balls and fewerhome runs.[32]
OnMLB.com's20–80 scale draft report, Schanuel received a 60 grade for hitting, 50 for power, 45 for baserunning, 50 for arm strength, 50 for fielding, and 50 overall. The profile noted hisplate discipline, citing his low strikeout rate and high walk rate in college. It also suggested a potential for him to play a corneroutfield position.[33]
Schanuel has20/10 vision, considered twice the ability of the average person.[3]