Article: Brewer Fanatic Draft Preview: Nolan Schanuel

[Jeremy Nygaard]

Nolan Schanuel is one of the best collegiate hitters in the entire country. He's moved up draft boards with a fantastic college season, but seems to have plateaued on draft lists just outside the Top 20. You may wonder why--with a bat like his--he isn't higher on boards. You can read the answer within.

 

Image courtesy of JC Ridley/OwlPix.com

 

Over the next two weeks, we're going to be providing you with profiles of 10 players the Brewers could take with the 18th pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Who is He?
Nolan Ryan Schanuel is an aptly-named baseball player, but this Nolan stands out because of the damage he can do with a bat in his hands. Currently sitting at 29th on the Consensus Board, Schanuel will have his name called for the first time after spending three years raking for Florida Atlantic. He went undrafted out of high school. 

Why the Brewers Will Draft Him
Almost every player projected to be a first baseman is going to get pushed right out of the first half of the first round. Obviously, Brewers fans will remember drafting Brewers great Prince Fielder seventh overall in 2002 and great trade chip Matt LaPorta at the same spot in 2007. But, overall, most first basemen get knocked down team's boards because all of their value is tied up in their bat, as they're already on the bottom rung of the defensive spectrum. 

Schanuel's bat is special and that's why he will be in the conversation for those teams drafting in the back half of the first round. In three college seasons, Schanuel has drawn 138 walks while only striking out 57 times (including 71 walks and 14 strikeouts in 2023). Guys with that kind of handle on the strike zone don't often produce significant power when they do hit; Schanuel does. Of his 46 career long balls, 19 came in 2023 which helped support a .868 slugging percentage. Beyond that, he's put up excellent exit velocities. Stat-, eye- and analytic-driven teams should all come to the same conclusion: Dude can rake.

Also... would the manager appreciate the set-up in the box?

Why the Brewers Won’t Draft Him
As mentioned, Schanuel is a first baseman and teams usually just look past them in the first round. And when they don't, they should. The last handful of first basemen drafted in the first round: Aaron Sabato (2020), Michael Toglia and Andrew Vaughn (2019) and Pavin Smith and Evan White (2016) have been disappointing at best, and relatively gross if we're being honest.

That's no knock on Schanuel, who could certainly buck the trend. But it is a trend, and teams have learned to allocate their assets better when it comes to making their first pick of the draft.

In 155 plate appearances in the wood-bat Cape Cod League last summer, Schanuel batted .200, struck out and walked 24 times each and provided very little power (one home run, .272 SLG). So it's happened before - albeit in a 36-game sample. But if it happens again, there's no defensive value to speak of. That's quite a gamble... yet an easier one to take at 18 than, say, 7. 

What do you think of Nolan Schanuel as a prospect? How would you feel about him being the Brewers pick at 18 overall? Join the discussion in the comments.

 

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[nate82]

If the Brewers go Schanuel at 18 it is because they believe they can get him under slot.  Which means they may have something like an extra $500k to spend later.

[duewizard]

If he is there at 33 I think this would be a great pick. I don't think he will make it that far down though,

[Harold Hutchison]

He's my pick for #18 overall. The bat and plate discipline alone are positives. As a corner OF/1B, he is not their usual defensive type, but the offense in this case is a must-have.

[Never Outhustled]

People keep calling Shanuel a 1B only, but he likely ends up a corner OF. I wouldn't worry too much about his poor performance in the cape code league. He was outstanding in a wood bat league the summer before. 

[wiguy94]

2 hours ago, Never Outhustled said:

People keep calling Shanuel a 1B only, but he likely ends up a corner OF. I wouldn't worry too much about his poor performance in the cape code league. He was outstanding in a wood bat league the summer before. 

Feel like concern over the Cape performance is probably less wood bat related and more small college struggling against better competition on the Cape. 

I agree  with you that any concern is probably overstated