Not even six weeks after making Nolan Schanuel the No. 11 overall pick of the MLB Draft, the Los Angeles Angels are calling him up to the majors, Jeff Passan reports.
Schanuel, a 21-year-old first baseman out of Florida Atlantic who bats lefty, has played just 21 games in the minors. Those 21 games have been spread across three different levels -- most recently Double-A -- and over that span, he's slashed .370/.510/.493 with one home run in 73 at-bats and 21 walks against 10 strikeouts.
Here's what our R.J. Anderson wrote about Schanuel when the Angels drafted him in early July:
Don't let the unusual batting stance cloud your perception: Schanuel can hit. He has an excellent feel for the strike zone and for making contact. He routinely hit the ball hard as a collegiate, even if his top-end exit velocities aren't in line with what you'd expect from a corner-only defender. This might be earlier than most people expected him to go -- we had him at No. 19 -- and the combination of players still on the board and a skill set that isn't for everyone makes us dock this pick just a touch.
First base has indeed been a problem for the Angels this season. The Angels have tried 12 different players at the position this season -- including deadline addition C.J. Cron -- and they've combined for a slash line of .239/.290/.385, which is inadequate for a bat-first position. The clear hope is that Schanuel will provide a jolt despite such limited time in the minors.
The Angels behaved aggressively leading up the deadline, not only by retaining two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who's in his walk year, but also by making multiple targeted additions to the roster. Those maneuvers, however, haven't yielded the intended results. The Angels at this writing are 4-11 in August and two games below .500 overall. At the same time, they're seven games out of the final AL wild-card spot and behind four teams. The Angels haven't made the postseason since 2014.
