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.

Jo Adell must prove he's made the necessary adjustments to secure his Angels' future

In many ways, Jo Adell, entering his age-26 season, is the anti-Nolan Schanuel. His bat speed is elite, ranking in the 98th percentile, which generated a hard-hit rate that was in the 71st percentile and a barrel rate in the 79th percentile.

Those terrific numbers showcase his power potential and show why the talented youngster was once a top prospect, although he's never been able to put it all together. Injuries and inconsistency have slowed Adell, and with that he's struggled to translate his loud tools into actual baseball productivity.

His 2024 season, the first in which he surpassed 285 plate appearances in a single season, was a microcosm of that. At various points in time, Adell looked like a star-in-the-making while at other times, he looked completely lost.

After a hot start to the season, his performance fell off a cliff before a midseason adjustment led to a rebound, posting a .248/.320/.451 line from July 30th until September 7th, before an oblique injury slowed him and ultimately ended his 2024 campaign.

All told, Adell finished the year with a .207/.280/.402 line with 20 homers and a 90 wRC+ in 130 games. Simply put, despite an improving walk rate which reached a career best 7.8% last year (47th percentile), Adell's pitch selection has lagged and as a result led to persistent issues putting bat to ball.

This spring, Adell has continued working on his timing, utilizing the toe-tap from last year at some points, and a shorter stride in lieu of the elongated leg-kick that contributed to his struggles last season, though hes yet to see consistent production despite the experimentation.

Whereas Schanuel needs to start hitting the ball with more authority, Adell needs to make more contact. His whiff rate was in the 19th percentile last season, and while his chase rate was not terrible ranking in the 42nd percentile, he still swung at too much junk to make reliable contact and tap into his tremendous power.

Adell is never going to win a batting title, but if he can improve his plate discipline and pitch selection, he can finally begin to realize his enormous potential. The walk rate improving in 2024 along with the adjustments he made midseason are encouraging signs, but he'll need to do more to prove he can translate his athleticism into actual baseball skills.

If Adell can make more contact, and do so on quality pitches to hit, we will see a player with great power, and enough patience and on-base skills to be a plus offensively. He might never be more than a .240=.250 hitter, but with enough walks and extra-base hits he could finally emerge as the fearsome hitter he was once advertised to be.

With his minor-league options exhausted and two more years of team control after this one, 2025 may be his last chance to prove that he's worthy of a roster spot moving forward.

Logan O'Hoppe must prove that he can handle the rigors of catching over a full MLB season

Finding catchers who can produce both at the plate and behind it is a tough feat. The physical demands of the position typically tend to cost a player with the bat, and those who are the exception typically balance out their offensive prowess with defensive short-comings.

Maintaining consistent production over the grueling 162-game season is tough for many young players, and even more so for young catchers. In Logan O'Hoppe, 25, the Angels have a young backstop with the potential to be both a positive offensively and defensively.

In order to realize that potential, however, he'll have to prove that he can hold up to the rigors of a full season in 2025. Last year, he was a superb offensive performer with the bat in the first half, posting an .800 OPS which would have been third among big league catchers who tallied a minimum of 350 plate appearances last year had he been able to sustain it.

However, O'Hoppe suffered from a second-half swoon, and went on to post just a .578 OPS in the second half of the 2024 season. During those tough months, O'Hoppe saw his strikeouts sky rocket posting a 38.2% second half K-rate, while his power declined as his ISO fell from .197 in the first half to .116 in the second half.

Despite the offensive struggles, he made strides behind the plate and was recognized by Angels general manager Perry Minasian for the improvements he made in every facet defensively over the second half of the season.

Now in 2025, O'Hoppe will look to marry those two parts of his game over the course of a full regular season. Slumps will come, as is normal for every big-league hitter, but he'll be tasked with finding answers quicker while maintaining his budding defensive performance.

With a new mentor in tow, veteran free-agent addition Travis d'Arnaud, who is more than capable of stepping in to spell O'Hoppe from time to time, he'll have all the support he needs to become one of the best catchers in the league. He'll need to show the consistency necessary to realize that potential.

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