Fast track to success: Nolan Schanuel, former FAU, Park Vista star, talks historic MLB ascent
The call came at midnight.
Nolan Schanuel had just gone 2-for-4 in a Double-A game in Knoxville, Tennessee. He had moved up quickly in the Los Angeles Angels' organization, playing for three minor league teams in less than a month, but he wasn't prepared for what he was about to hear.
Book a flight to Los Angeles. You're going to The Show.
"I'd packed four pairs of shorts, four collared shirts (for a road trip), and I get the call and all my stuff's back home," Schanuel said, referring to Huntsville, Alabama, where the Angels' Double-A team is based. "I get told I need to wear pants to go into the big league clubhouse. So I'm like, 'Oh crap, this isn't going to be good.'"
For the next couple of hours, Schanuel called family members, friends and former coaches, who didn't mind being awakened when they found out that the former Park Vista High and Florida Atlantic star was headed to the major leagues. He booked a 6 a.m. flight, but he was too excited to sleep.
At age 21, less than six weeks after being drafted, Schanuel was about to realize his lifelong dream. It was the fastest promotion of a non-pitcher from the draft to MLB in 20 years.
And when he arrived in the Angels' clubhouse on Aug. 18, he was wearing pants.
"My girlfriend's brother and her mom and dad were actually leaving from the same airport I was leaving in the morning," he said. "So they met me there and he gave me a pair of pants and a nice shirt to wear for the clubhouse. I was very grateful for that."
Schanuel reflected on his whirlwind summer after a recent workout at Hit It Great in Jupiter, touching on draft night, his quick tour through the minor leagues and his first impressions of teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout.
More coverage: Local slugger Nolan Schanuel to join Ohtani, Trout with Angels after historic promotion
Draft stock rises
With a record-setting junior season at FAU, Schanuel established himself as a likely first-round draft pick.
He was among the national leaders in batting average (.447) and on-base percentage (.615), hit 18 home runs and drove in 64 runs, and was named Conference USA Player of the Year. What especially caught the eye of scouts was his plate discipline: 71 walks, tied for most in the nation, against only 14 strikeouts.
Most draft projections had Schanuel going late in the first round, but he said he was getting "little hints here and there" that his stock was rising.
"The day of the draft (July 9), I woke up nervous, didn't sleep much," he said. "I talked to a lot of people that day, close friends of mine and scouts, and they were telling me, 'Hey, get ready, it's going to happen today.'"
Schanuel, surrounded by family and friends at his Boynton Beach home, didn't have to wait long. The Angels took him with the 11th pick, passing up higher-rated prospects in favor of a proven hitter who might be able to reach the majors more quickly.
Schanuel was excited about the prospect of playing on the West Coast and joining Ohtani and Trout, who have five MVP awards between them. He also knew of the Angels' recent history of moving players up quickly, including infielder Zach Neto and pitcher Ben Joyce, two recent draftees.
"There's no philosophical thing here," general manager Perry Minasian told ESPN.com. "It's the individual player, where they're at, how they're performing and where the team is and what the needs are."
Minor league sprint
Schanuel's pro career started with a week in Arizona, where he joined the Angels' other draftees. After practicing a few times and playing three games in the Rookie League, he was sent to the Angels' Class A team in San Bernardino, California.
"I was just getting to know the guys," Schanuel said. "The day they tell me I'm moving into an apartment, I get called into the manager's office and I'm getting shipped out to Alabama."
In two games with the Inland Empire 66ers, Schanuel went 5-for-6 with a walk, earning a ticket to Huntsville to play for the Double-A Rocket City Trash Pandas.
Schanuel kept changing uniforms but never stopped hitting. In 17 games with the Trash Pandas, he batted .333 with five extra-base hits and 16 walks. His cumulative minor league batting average: .365. On-base percentage: .505.
And though he spent almost three weeks in Huntsville, his off-the-field experience was similar to his previous stop.
"I'm in a hotel, they move me into an apartment, I'm there for a week, we're on a road trip and I get shipped out again," he said. "I didn't really get to unpack my suitcase — that's the way I like to describe it."
On to The Show
Less than 18 hours after getting the midnight call, Schanuel arrived at the Angels' clubhouse before a game against Tampa Bay. He couldn't help but be a little awed.
"I get there and I find out I'm batting leadoff," he said. "I've never batted leadoff before in my life and now I'm batting in front of one of the greatest baseball players of all time, Shohei Ohtani. This is the first time I'm getting to meet everybody. ... It's all going down and I'm like, 'Holy crap, this is a dream come true, this is what little me has lived up to.'"
During warmups at first base, Schanuel surveyed the near-capacity crowd at Angel Stadium.
"The adrenaline was just running," he said. "I felt like I was on so many grams of caffeine, and I don't drink caffeine. I felt my blood pumping. I could feel my heart beating."
Schanuel didn't have to make a play in the field in the first inning, but the adrenaline rush continued when he led off the bottom of the inning against right-hander Erasmo Ramirez. He struck out swinging on a 1-2 change-up.
"I looked really silly," he said. "Everything felt a million miles an hour. I go back to the dugout and guys are coming up to me and saying, 'Hey, slow the game down. It's the same game you were playing when you were 6 years old. It's baseball.' After that, I kind of soothed myself and just tried to play the game I love."
The rest of the game was eventful, to say the least.
On the first ball hit to Schanuel, he snared a line drive by Josh Lowe and stepped on first for an unassisted double play. In the bottom of the second, he drew a two-out walk to load the bases and then watched Ohtani launch a grand slam.
In the seventh, Schanuel singled to left off reliever Jason Adam for his first major league hit. ("That ball is framed in my room already," he said.) He advanced on a wild pitch and scored the tying run on a double by Brandon Drury.
In the ninth inning, the Rays were threatening to break a 6-6 tie with runners at the corners and no outs. With the Angels' infield playing in, shortstop Luis Rengifo fielded a grounder and flipped to second baseman Drury for the force. When Drury threw on to Schanuel for the second out, the runner on third base, Yandy Diaz, broke for the plate.
Schanuel made a perfect throw to catcher Logan O'Hoppe, who tagged Diaz on the left shoulder before he touched the plate. Triple play.
Diaz on his baserunning strategy: "When you see a rookie like that (Schanuel), you hope that he gets a little bit nervous. But that play, it seemed like he had been playing for 10 years."
Alas, the Angels gave up three runs in the 10th inning to lose 9-6.
"Being part of a triple play, being part of a grand slam by Shohei, going into extras ... we didn't end up winning, but it was just a great day," Schanuel said.
Ups and downs
Schanuel started his MLB career with a 10-game hitting streak, but it coincided with the Angels' free fall from playoff contention.
During his time with the team, players were coming and going. Trout returned from a fractured hand, played one game, then was shut down again. Ohtani reinjured his elbow and underwent surgery. Former All-Star third baseman Anthony Rendon never got off the injury list. Several players who were acquired at the trade deadline were later dealt away.
"Injuries definitely hurt us," Schanuel said. "It was a lot different from what I was used to. In college, you're playing three or four games a week so you're not prone to injuries as much."
As the Angels stumbled to a 13-27 finish, Schanuel started most games at first base, keeping his average above .300 for a while before finishing at .275. On Sept. 16, he hit his first and only home run, a 389-foot shot to right off Tigers right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long. That came during his only three-hit game — but the Angels, fittingly, lost in extra innings.
Before Ohtani's injury, Schanuel got a glimpse of the two-time MVP's greatness.
"We had a doubleheader (Aug. 23 vs. the Reds) and he was pitching," he said. "First inning, he mows them down, then he comes up and hits a home run. Unfortunately, he got hurt the next inning. But just seeing him dominate on the mound and then get in the box and hit a homer, it's like, 'Hey, I can own you guys in both.'"
Everywhere he goes, Schanuel hears the same questions: What's Ohtani like? What's Trout like?
"It's the same answer for both," he said. "Everything is baseball. Their love for the game is unmatched. I thought I was a psychopath for baseball. I thought everything I did was geared toward baseball. And then I met them and I'm like, 'I've got to kick up my game a little bit.' ... Just seeing them, it's like a competitive thing. I'm trying to love baseball more than them."
Looking ahead to '24
When Schanuel reports to spring training in February, the Angels will have a new manager, Ron Washington. Ohtani, a free agent, will likely be wearing a new uniform. Trout could be traded if the team decides to rebuild. First baseman Jared Walsh, whose injury issues helped open the door for Schanuel's call-up, will be trying to regain his All-Star form of 2021.
"I've got to fight for a spot just as much as everybody else," Schanuel said. "My spot might not even be first base. I'm thinking I could be a super utility guy, play whatever position we need to fill. That's kind of how I've been my whole life. ... As long as I continue to hit, continue to help us put runs on the board, I feel I'll remain up there in the big leagues."
Schanuel, 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, is working to add more power to his game. Of his 30 MLB hits, only four went for extra bases.
"I know I have that power potential," he said. "I showed it in college. I'm also going to try to get faster, be able to steal bases. It all depends on where they want me in the lineup. If they want me to be a leadoff guy, I'll be that OBP guy, get on base, work on my speed. Or if they move me deeper in the lineup, I'll just try to unlock more power, be an RBI producer."
He's excited about the prospect of playing for Washington, who took the Rangers to two World Series as a manager and has been the Braves' third-base coach for the past six years. "He's an old-school kind of guy and I believe I am, too," Schanuel said.
After his rapid ascent in 2023, Schanuel said he is still adjusting to being a major leaguer.
"I haven't 100% gotten it through my head yet, but I'm definitely a lot more comfortable than I was the first week," he said. "I just try to remember that it's baseball. I've been playing it my whole life. It might be a little faster, guys are obviously a little better, but it's still just the game I've been playing since I was a little kid."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Nolan Schanuel, former FAU, Park Vista star, talks historic MLB ascent
