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SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Nolan Schanuel Promoted to Angels for MLB Debut

August 18, 2023 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


MADISON, Alabama - Just 40 days after being drafted by the Los Angeles Angels, Nolan Schanuel has been Launched to the League. On Friday, the Angels promoted the first baseman from the Rocket City Trash Pandas for his Major League debut.

"This is an awesome opportunity for an incredibly talented player," Trash Pandas Manager Andy Schatzley said. "He's a very impressive player and the strides that he's made in such a short amount of time are even more impressive."

Schanuel will become the 25th former Rocket City player to make his MLB debut (24th for the Angels) and the eighth to do so in 2023 after Jordyn Adams, Trey Cabbage, José Soriano, Ben Joyce, Sam Bachman, Zach Neto, Kolton Ingram, and Victor Mederos.

Selected by the Angels with the 11th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft on July 9, Schanuel joined the Trash Pandas on July 28 after playing five games between the ACL Angels and Low-A Inland Empire. In 16 games for Rocket City, Schanuel batted .339 (20-for-59) with one home run, 12 RBI, 15 runs scored, three doubles, a triple, and 16 walks while striking out only nine times.

"One of the most impressive things he's been able to do is manage his at-bats," Schatzley said. "The quality and the consistency of his at-bats at this level with such a gap in his schedule and such little professional experience is a huge separator for me."

Schanuel will become the first 2023 draftee to make his MLB debut, the third straight year an Angels draftee and former Trash Pandas player will accomplish the feat. Chase Silseth was the first to do so from the 2021 draft class and 2022 first round pick Zach Neto did so this season when he debuted for the Angels in April.

When Schanuel debuts for the Angels this weekend, he will be the first position player to make his MLB debut during his draft year since Conor Gillaspie with the 2008 San Francisco Giants. Schanuel will also be the third player in Angels history to debut for the club in the year he was drafted after Brian Anderson in 1993 and Danny Goodwin in 1975.

Since he joined the Trash Pandas, Schanuel led the Southern League with a .480 on-base percentage and ranked among the league leaders in walks (T-3rd, 16), hits (T-5th, 20), runs (T-5th, 15), and batting average (6th, .339). He recorded a hit in 13 of his 16 games for the Trash Pandas, including a nine-game hitting streak from August 2-12 in which he hit .333 (11-for-33).

After going 0-for-4 in his Double-A debut on July 29, Schanuel rebounded and went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs scored, four RBI, two walks, and a stolen base in a 11-2 win over Tennessee on July 30. In the second game of a doubleheader on August 11 vs. Mississippi, Schanuel launched his first professional home run, a solo shot to left field. In his final game for Rocket City last night, he went 2-for-4 with an RBI double, a walk, and a run scored in a 6-0 win at Tennessee.

Schanuel, 21, is coming off a historic 2023 college season for Florida Atlantic, hitting .447 with 19 home runs, 64 RBI, 71 walks, 18 doubles, and 70 runs scored in 59 games. He led all of Division I baseball in batting average (.447), on-base percentage (.615), and walks (71) while finishing third in the nation in slugging percentage (.868). He reached base safely in 54 straight games, the longest streak in Division I baseball in 2023.

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Southern League Stories from August 18, 2023


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