The Los Angeles Angels enter Friday’s action with a 60-62 record and seven games out of the final wild card spot in the American League.
Despite going all in ahead of the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline, it appears that Los Angeles is now playing out the string. There’s no better evidence of this than what was reported Friday afternoon.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Angels are calling up 2023 first-round pick Nolan Schanuel from Double-A after a mere 96 plate appearances in the minor leagues.
Schanuel, 21, becomes the fastest U.S.-born player to go from being drafted to making his MLB debut since former Texas Rangers pitcher Don Gleaton back in 1979. Selected No. 11 overall last month, Schanuel played college ball at Florida Atlantic.
While this move is shocking in the grand scheme of things given Schanuel’s lack of professional experience, it’s been somewhat the Angels’ modus operandi in recent years.
Back in 2021, Chase Silseth became the first player from that year’s draft to debut. He did so after just 88.1 minor league innings. Earlier this season, Zach Neto become the first player from the 2022 MLB Draft to debut after a mere 201 plate appearances in the minors.
Silseth pitched to a 6.59 ERA in seven games as a rookie. He’s turned it around this season (3.27 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) in 13 appearances. As for Neto, he’s hitting .241 with eight homers, 30 RBI and a .725 OPS.
We can’t proclaim that the Angels magically have all the answers. After all, they haven’t made the playoffs since all the way back in 2014. With that said, Schanuel was dominating minor league pitching ahead of the call.
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Nolan Schanuel stats (2023): .370 average, 1 HR, 15 RBI, 1.004 OPS
The first baseman should be making his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays Friday night. For an Angels team that’s pretty much out of contention, this could at least act as a boost.
It also must be noted that Friday represents the day that teams can promote prospects without 2023 acting as an accrued year. In reality, it’s just to get an extended look at Schanuel with nothing else to really play for.