Angels select 1B Nolan Schanuel 11th overall in the 1st round of the 2023 MLB Draft

[Dave Saltzer]

2 minutes ago, REDneck said:

I appreciate your response. Very well thought out.

Maybe I should rephrase the question. Was this the BPA or the BPA for the Angels. 

One in the same probably.

Thank you!

I would definitely say that he was the "best" (remember, as I wrote in my piece that "best" is a VERY subjective term) for the Angels and may be the best available overall (or in the top-5). I also liked Shaw and Taylor,. Nimmala could become the best, but with a much greater risk. So, it depends how risk tolerant a team is, the status of their farm, etc. We won't really know who was the BPA overall for many years, by which time, I hope we've had many really good years out of Schanuel. 

[Angelsjunky]

2 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Werner Blakely retired?! Please say it ain't so.

He played today....not sure what you meant there, Dave.

[REDneck]

12 minutes ago, Second Base said:

No. But they took a good hitter that fits an immediate need. 

Who would you have selected after the previous 10 picks today?

[Dave Saltzer]

5 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

He played today....not sure what you meant there, Dave.

Damn my chemo brain at times (let me tell you, chemo brain is real). I meant William Holmes. 

[Dave Saltzer]

9 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Werner Blakely retired?! Please say it ain't so.

It ain't so. 

 

My chemo brain got me. Just like it got me now replying to you twice!

Edited July 10, 2023 by Dave Saltzer

[Blarg]

9 hours ago, T.G. said:

Funny, he was compared to just about every first baseman that's ever played in MLB in this thread.

Maybe not every 1st baseman. 

[Deek]

Dude had more homeruns (19) than strikeouts (14) this season...

[Dtwncbad]

At this point Walsh is about as important to the Angels going forward as Casey Kotchman.

[Revad]

I imagine Walsh’s health status factored in somewhere.

[Second Base]

6 hours ago, REDneck said:

Who would you have selected after the previous 10 picks today?

That really comes down to team direction. The Angels seem unwilling to enter a rebuild and as a result they seem to be stuck in this cycle of mediocrity. They keep drafting high floor collegiate players because they're fast to the majors in hopes of competing but it isn't working. You don't get elite players to build around at the collegiate level unless you're picking 1-1, and without entering a rebuild phase, you aren't picking 1-1. 

*Note - I believe Zach Neto is the exception here, not the rule. While not elite, I think the Angels found themselves a legitimate 4-5 win SS from the college ranks in the middle of the first round with Neto.

Typically, the only way to get elite players 11th overall is to go the riskier prep route. 

Schanuel is not a bad pick, but I believe even outside of a supercharged draft like this year, he's still someone that goes around 11th overall in the first round. SSI the Angels didn't capitalize.

I think that if the Angels changed their organizational direction and were willing to rebuild, then picking someone along the lines of Aiden Miller or Bryce Eldridge could've worked. 

But as it stands, with their current philosophy, Schanuel is the right pick. 

[Chuck]

Reminder to everyone saying Nolan Schanuel didn't fair well in the Cape Cod league last summer as a negative in his profile.

He had corrective eye surgery after the CC last summer and that's when he went on an absolute tear this year. 

[Taylor]

Any word on if Perry was fist pumping after the pick was announced?

[Hubs]

15 hours ago, Jimmy Z said:

No he wasn't... here's a couple quick google search of mock drafts from 2009

http://projectprospect.com/article/2009/05/24/2009-mlb-mock-draft/

projected to be picked 16th here

https://baseballdraftreport.com/2009/06/05/mock-draft-3-0/

projected to be picked 20th here

http://www.mymlbdraft.com/MLB-Mock-Draft-2009

projected to be picked 26th here

 

Those are mock drafts....not rankings like you said before. I found Trout at 50 in MaxPrepRankings the week before the draft.

Point is don't worry, mocks and rankings mean nothing.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Hubs

[Hubs]

Teel is the highest ranked prospect that was available, or Gonzalez. The Angels three top "prospects" play the same position, and two of them are already in the Majors. The other is at AA. A typical first round college bat is at most 2 years away, and I doubt Schanuel will be that far away. They could've moved Gonzalez to 2nd or 3rd, but Teel would've been redundant.

Thaiss used up his rookie eligibility in 2019, three seasons after his 1st round selection, and Ward in 2018, so...

Plus they both had position changes (Multiple in fact)...

Edited July 10, 2023 by Hubs

[Vladdy Issues]

3 minutes ago, Hubs said:

Those are mock drafts....not rankings like you said before. I found Trout at 50 in MaxPrepRankings the week before the draft.

Point is don't worry, mocks and rankings mean nothing.

Funny because Perfect Game (who I saw all over the place in yesterdays MLB draft broadcast) had Trout ranked 8 in their publication... (no snark here) but who the hell is MaxPrep Rankings?  Seriously I never heard of them before you bringing them up now.  While the Perfect Game guys seems to have been around since like forever .

https://www.perfectgame.org/Rankings/Players/NationalRankings.aspx?gyear=2009

[happybat4]

Someone mentioned Sean Casey. With our recent recent lack of success with draft picks, it would be a win if he has a Sean Casey career. 

[Hubs]

3 minutes ago, Jimmy Z said:

Funny because Perfect Game (who I saw all over the place in yesterdays MLB draft broadcast) had Trout ranked 8 in their publication... (no snark here) but who the hell is MaxPrep Rankings?  Seriously I never heard of them before you bringing them up now.  While the Perfect Game guys seems to have been around since like forever .

https://www.perfectgame.org/Rankings/Players/NationalRankings.aspx?gyear=2009

I literally googled after your post. That was the highest I could find of Trout being ranked. I dont pay for Baseball America so???

There are dozens of articles about Trout sneaking into the first round, and he was passed on by 20+ teams. I just mean that let's not freakout about rankings of where someone should go. They passed on Kumar Rocker for Sam Bachman too a few years ago and I was like what? but Rocker didn't sign and hasn't pitched in the bigs yet and Bachman has.

 

[Hubs]

One name I don't see brought up a lot is Yuri Gurriel, a low strikeout 1st baseman with some power.

But yeah, Casey Kotchman plus power vibes for me.

[Vladdy Issues]

Just now, Hubs said:

I literally googled after your post. That was the highest I could find of Trout being ranked. I dont pay for Baseball America so???

There are dozens of articles about Trout sneaking into the first round, and he was passed on by 20+ teams. I just mean that let's not freakout about rankings of where someone should go. They passed on Kumar Rocker for Sam Bachman too a few years ago and I was like what? but Rocker didn't sign and hasn't pitched in the bigs yet and Bachman has.

 

that's cool bro... that's the highest you could find and I found you one higher from a more well known and reputable source.

[Hubs]

Just now, Jimmy Z said:

that's cool bro... that's the highest you could find and I found you one higher from a more well known and reputable source.

OK Bro. You only have 180 posts and I've never seen you on here on any thread, so let's not antagonize...

 

[Vladdy Issues]

28 minutes ago, happybat4 said:

Someone mentioned Sean Casey. With our recent recent lack of success with draft picks, it would be a win if he has a Sean Casey career. 

Yup finding a guy with a Sean Casey like 16.5 Career WAR potential would be a huge win for this organization.

Now if only we could've found a Max Muncy (17.3 WAR) type of player through a minor league signing like the Dodgers did on April 27, 2017.

Edited July 10, 2023 by Jimmy Z

[Vladdy Issues]

8 minutes ago, Hubs said:

OK Bro. You only have 180 posts and I've never seen you on here on any thread, so let's not antagonize...

 

did you just post shame me?...

[Angels in 2030]

Even if Trout were ranked #8 by everyone (not the case), it still shows how meaningless the rankings are at draft time.  It's fun as fans, but in reality it's worthless.  I'm sure each team has wildly different rankings of the players -- and even then, they are WAY wrong for what the players ultimately become.  

[Vladdy Issues]

2 minutes ago, Fourts said:

Even if Trout were ranked #8 by everyone (not the case), it still shows how meaningless the rankings are at draft time.  It's fun as fans, but in reality it's worthless.  I'm sure each team has wildly different rankings of the players -- and even then, they are WAY wrong for what the players ultimately become.  

So when you say "not the case" here... does that apply to him being ranked #8 in this article below from a much more well known and reputable source than MaxPrep Rankings?

https://www.perfectgame.org/Rankings/Players/NationalRankings.aspx?gyear=2009

... just asking for a friend @Hubs, and please don't believe what you can see posted in the number eight spot in the link above

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

Reminder to everyone saying Nolan Schanuel didn't fair well in the Cape Cod league last summer as a negative in his profile.

He had corrective eye surgery after the CC last summer and that's when he went on an absolute tear this year. 

This gets me to think back to reading up on how great eyesight can enhance pitch recognition.

Rogers Hornsby was a prime example.   Guy never went to the movies because he wanted to preserve pristine eyesight and be able to read the spin on the pitches.