Dream Angels starting lineup for the 2024 season

Another disappointing season has Los Angeles Angels fans turning the page to 2024 already. With so much up in the air, it's hard to even picture what this Angels roster will look like next season. Shohei Ohtani is, of course, a free agent, and the Angels have several players who could realistically be traded as well.

When it comes to piecing together an Angels' dream lineup, we have to be somewhat realistic. No, the Angels will not be trading for Juan Soto as fun as that would be. This dream lineup will almost certainly not take shape, but it's also not completely impossible.

Batting first for the dream Angels is first baseman Nolan Schanuel

When the Angels selected Nolan Schanuel with the 11th pick of this year's draft, nobody, with the exception of maybe Perry Minasian, expected him to be up as quickly as he was. After playing in just 22 minor league games, Schanuel was up and contributing for the Angels down the stretch.

Schanuel led off exclusively for the Angels when he was in the lineup and did nothing to warrant hitting anywhere else in the order in 2024. The 21-year-old slashed .275/.402/.330 with one home run and six RBI in 132 plate appearances and 29 games for the Angels to finish out the year. He was simply extraordinary for a player with virtually no professional experience.

Schanuel displayed an absurd eye for anyone, let alone an inexperienced player who was in college just a couple months prior. He drew 20 walks compared to just 19 strikeouts. There's a good chance this guy will be a staple at the top of the order for years to come, and he certainly has room to improve.

The Angels would certainly like for him to hit for more power especially as a first baseman, and I believe he's going to as he continues to get more comfortable with MLB pitching. Even if he's only a 10-15 home run hitter, as long as he's an on-base machine fans really shouldn't care. I'd love for him to be Luis Arraez lite.