Schanuel grew up a stone’s throw from Florida Atlantic University, attending sporting events at the school regularly. After an outstanding high school career in the region, he stayed in his own backyard for college ball and has been raking ever since. A starter from the get-go, Schanuel slashed .357/.462/.619 in his first two years with FAU, positioning himself as one of the better offensive performers among the college set in this class. Though he did not hit well during his stint in the Cape Cod League last summer, he was one of the nation’s top collegiate hitters during the 2023 season.
The left-handed-hitting Schanuel has the chance to be at least an above-average hitter. He’s always had an advanced approach at the plate, drawing more walks than strikeouts over his first two college seasons, and even though his Cape numbers weren’t very good, the plate discipline still showed up. He’s grown into more power, going from 11 homers as a freshman to 16 a year ago.
An average runner, Schanuel played first base almost exclusively for FAU over his first two seasons out of need. Some scouts think he’s athletic enough to handle an outfield corner, where he saw some time in the spring. That could raise his profile some, though it’s his advanced bat that could allow him to surpass C.J. Chatham (No. 51 overall pick in 2016) as the highest-drafted player in FAU history.
Schanuel stayed in his own backyard to play college baseball and hit the second he got on Florida Atlantic University’s campus. After posting a combined 1.081 OPS in his first two seasons, he went off as a junior in 2023, leading all Division I hitters in average (.447), on-base percentage (.615) and walks (71). Taken No. 11 overall by the Angels, who have a reputation for pushing guys quickly up the ladder, Schanuel played just 22 Minor League games before getting called up the big leagues, where he promptly walked more than he struck out and reached base in all 29 games he played.
A left-handed hitter, Schanuel has always had an advanced approach at the plate, leaving FAU with a career .516 OBP. He has a keen sense of finding the barrel and doesn’t swing and miss much, with just a 17.6 percent whiff rate during his first taste of the big leagues. He tapped into more power as he made his way through college, homering 19 times last spring, and while the pop didn’t show up over his first 51 pro games, he spent the offseason working to add strength and make some tweaks to his setup and swing to tap into his raw pop without sacrificing any approach.
Schanuel is an average runner who has good baserunning instincts, and there’s some athleticism there, though he’s largely played first base both in college and at the outset of his pro career. He’s already reached Los Angeles, and there’s no reason to think his bat won’t be in the lineup daily from here on out.
Schanuel grew up a stone’s throw from Florida Atlantic University, attending sporting events at the school regularly. After an outstanding high school career in the region, he stayed in his own backyard for college ball and has been raking ever since. A starter from the get-go, Schanuel slashed .357/.462/.619 in his first two years with FAU, positioning himself as one of the better offensive performers among the college set in this class. After a lackluster showing in the Cape Cod League last summer, he was one of the nation’s top collegiate hitters during the 2023 season, leading all Division I players in average, on-base percentage and walks. He was taken No. 11 overall by the Angels, who gave him full slot ($5.25 million) and pushed him to Double-A during his summer debut.
The left-handed-hitting Schanuel has the chance to be at least an above-average hitter. He’s always had an advanced approach at the plate, drawing close to three times more walks than strikeouts over his college career. He’s grown into more power, going from 11 homers as a freshman to 16 a year ago and 19 in his final season.
An average runner, Schanuel played first base almost exclusively for FAU. While some scouts think he’s athletic enough to handle an outfield corner, where he saw some time in the spring, he was playing first base for the Angels at the outset. Wherever he goes defensively, his advanced bat should enable him to move quickly to Los Angeles.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
Standard
Year
HR
2023
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2024
13
12
10
16
10
16
15
15
14
7
10
16
13
9
14
13
13
13
14
17
10
11
17
14
10
10
8
6
12
14
8
Player
14
13
11
18
11
17
16
16
15
8
11
18
14
10
16
14
14
14
15
19
11
12
18
15
11
11
9
7
13
15
9
Note: xHR tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. The "Standard" view here accounts for different wall heights and distances but excludes environmental effects. It is based purely on the observed trajectory of the hit.
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here
