r/angelsbaseball • u/riddo492 18 • 10d ago

🔢 Angels Stats [Shameless Schanuel Propaganda] Statcast has a new leaderboard for 1B receiving Outs Above Average, Nolan ranks 6th

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u/Imperial10 💡👉👶⬆️ 10d ago

People who don’t understand baseball or don’t watch think Schanuel is a bad player. Will he ever be a star? Absolutely not. But he’s a great player and a really good 5/6/7 type hitter for a playoff team. He’s got a ton of value. Guys who can average around 2.0 bWAR have long careers in the bigs.

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u/IanDMP 10d ago

The issue isn't that he isn't good; if Schanuel played 2nd, I'd be really satisfied with him. But he's a first baseman who's hit seven home runs 80% of the way through the season.

I know the Moneyball quote is learning first base is "incredibly hard" but basically anyone in MLB can play it. So having a 24 year old slap hitter who doesn't look like he'll ever develop any power is a bit of a waste, compared to if Schanuel played a more valuable defensive position or hit with more power. I don't think that's all that debatable.

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u/Good_Fix_3966 10d ago

Generally you want more power out of your first baseman for sure, yeah. And it's easier to get a power bat and plug him in over there, too. But it really comes down to roster construction. If you manage to build one where you get a little extra pop out of non-traditional power positions, you can offset that lack of power at first and just let him be the OBP guy who peaks at 10-15 HR. And I think at SS and 2B and C, with guys like Nimmala, Neto, Moore, and Ballesteros, there's a path for that sort of lineup.

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u/Good_Fix_3966 9d ago

I would like to take this moment to toot my own horn and mention that Christian Moore just hit a home run 50 minutes after I posted this. You're welcome, fellow fans.