Schanuel has been swinging at more pitches in the strike zone, and it’s helped him to hit .316 over his last 15 games. Schanuel says a talk with the Angels’ hitting coaches in mid-June helped turn him around.
OAKLAND — Nolan Schanuel’s performance on Tuesday night summed up all that’s going right for him these days.
The Angels rookie first baseman swung at 10 of the 11 pitches that he saw in the strike zone. That included a two-run single to left field against a left-handed pitcher and pulling an RBI double into right-center on a 101 mph fastball from Oakland A’s closer Mason Miller.
“Right now he’s not afraid of who’s out there throwing,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “He’s starting to feel himself, and that’s a good thing.”
Schanuel agreed that he’s felt like a new player lately.
“A lot more confident,” he said on Wednesday. “I figured something out with my swing and my approach. … Since I’ve been doing that, everything’s clicked.”
Schanuel said the conversation with hitting coaches Johnny Washington and Tim Laker took place around mid-June. They emphasized to him to look for his pitch and concentrate on his bat path.
Over the 15 games since June 15, Schanuel is hitting .316 with an .806 OPS. In the last seven games of that stretch he’s hit .400 with an .873 OPS.
For the season, Schanuel is hitting .239 with eight home runs and a .666 OPS.
Schanuel said pitch selection has been a significant key, and that doesn’t only mean laying off pitches out of the zone.
It means swinging at pitches in the zone.
In April, Schanuel swung at 52% of pitches in the zone. In June, he’s swung at 69% of pitches in the zone.
Schanuel swung at the first pitch 20% of the time in April, but that went up to 37% in June.
When Schanuel was more passive at the plate, he was drawing more walks and his on-base percentage was higher, but the trade off was that the times he made contact it was soft contact.
“I like what I see,” Washington said. “He’s finally becoming aggressive. It doesn’t matter the velocity they’re throwing. The most important thing I like is he’s starting to hit the ball to the opposite field, to the middle and opposite field. …
“He’s beginning to figure out what works for him. That first month and a half was a grind for him because he’s never experienced a major league season before. It’s tough to play a major league baseball game every single day. He’s settling in and figuring it out.”
Right-hander Carlos Estévez was named the American League Reliever of the Month for June.
Estévez pitched 10 scoreless innings in June, allowing just two hits and no walks. At one point he retired 26 consecutive hitters, a streak that began in May.
After a slow start, Estévez lowered his ERA for the season to 3.00, with 16 saves in 19 opportunities. He has 27 strikeouts and three walks, including two intentional walks.
“Spectacular month,” Washington said. “He was there for us the whole month. It was fantastic the way he came in and pounded the strike zone and got us off the field. That was his job. And he did it to perfection. He really did it almost to perfection.”
Third baseman Anthony Rendon (torn hamstring) remains on schedule to face live pitching this weekend at Angel Stadium. If that goes well, Rendon could be activated as soon as Monday. …
Catcher Logan O’Hoppe was not in the lineup on Wednesday night because Washington wanted to get him a day off on this trip. Backup catcher Matt Thaiss doesn’t normally start against lefties, and the Angels are facing lefties on Thursday and Friday. O’Hoppe is expected to start the final four games of the trip. …
Outfielder Kevin Pillar is also expected to be the lineup on Thursday and Friday against the lefty starters. …
Right-hander Roansy Contreras will be allowed to get to 95 pitches on Thursday, his second start after working out of the bullpen. He was limited to around 65 in his previous outing.
Angels (RHP Roansy Contreras, 1-0, 3.82 ERA) at A’s (LHP JP Sears, 4-7, 5.00 ERA), Thursday, 1:07 p.m., Bally Sports West, 830 AM
