3 young Angels hitters with something to prove in 2025 if the team is to compete

The Angels have put together a burgeoning young core of hitters who can lead the team back to greatness after years of mediocrity. Up and down the roster, there are reasons to convince yourself that the future may be bright.

However, several of these key young cogs have key aspects of their game that must be addressed if they are to elevate themselves from potential piece to impact player. If those improvements are made, the Angels may surprise and outperform expectations. If not, the Halos could be in for another long season.

Each of the following three players has something different they must address, and while it's not necessarily make-or-break time for them, they may quickly find that their long-term outlooks will be adjusted if they can't show meaningful progress in key areas in 2025.

Angels first baseman Nolan Schanuel must develop a power stroke

In many ways, Nolan Schanuel is an anomaly. The Angels' 2023 first-round pick shot through the minors faster than expected, an impressive feat considering how aggressive the Angels are with their prospects, making his big league debut in 2023 after just 22 games of minor league seasoning.

A hulking presence at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, Schanuel looks the part of a traditional first baseman, but looks can be deceiving. While first base is typically reserved for the most powerful mashers in the game, Schanuel instead excels with contact and plate discipline.

The way he generates that contact is unique too. Primarily a singles hitter, one would think that he would have an approach that's short and quick to the ball, however, instead his stance with his hands held high above his head generates a long, loopy swing.

That long swing, again typically reserved for guys with prodigious power, generates bat speed that ranks in the second percentile and produces a hard-hit rate that's in the fourth percentile. Schanuel also ranks in the seventh percentile in average exit velocity and the ninth percentile in barrel rate.

What that means is that rather than driving the ball, he essentially "catches" it with his bat and flicks singles over infielders' heads and in front of outfielders. His batting eye, as evidenced by his chase rate, which is in the 91st percentile, and his whiff rate, which is in the 96th percentile, shows his selectivity, and ultimately his effectiveness at making contact given his unique swing and approach.

Those factors, combined with an 11.2% walk rate which ranks in the 87th percentile, makes him a slightly more productive hitter than average as his 104 wRC+ from 2024 shows. However, there's still a key piece missing.

Despite hitting 13 homers on the year, his 2024 season saw him ranked dead last among qualified first baseman in slugging percentage with a mark of .362. Schanuel's game plan throughout the offseason has been to get stronger and improve his bat speed.

He doesn't need to become a 30+ homer masher, and aspects in his game like the above-average walk rate and below-average strikeout rate are already solid foundations. If he can harness some increased bat speed, and perhaps shorten-up a bit getting to the zone to generate more gap power that results in hard-hit doubles rather than seeing-eye singles he'll be much better for it.

At just 23-years-old and already with a full season of big league experience under his belt, it's too early to write him off as too flawed to become the Angels' first baseman of the future, but he'll need to continue to evolve without losing the traits that have already made him a productive, if unorthodox, player.

The risk here is that Schanuel's journey to increase his bat speed leads to worse swing decisions, out of whack timing that result in him rolling over weak ground balls, and a decrease in plate discipline. If it works out, though, he could combine his already exceptional contact and plate discipline skills with enough power to make him a doubles-machine and a uniquely fearsome hitter. Proving the later will be key for Schanuel in 2025.