Angels Nolan Schanuel is succeeding since he’s stopped trying to hit homers

CLEVELAND — As it turns out, Nolan Schanuel began to answer the skeptics only after he stopped trying.

The Angels rookie first baseman made a splash in the majors last season, even though he’d been drafted less than two months before his big league debut. Critics, however, often pointed out that Schanuel hadn’t shown the power that a first baseman normally has.

Although Schanuel said publicly that he wasn’t worried about that, he now admits that he changed his approach at the start of the season.

“I was pulling off the ball, trying to hit homers,” Schanuel said this weekend. “A giraffe is not going to eat meat. You can’t take it out of its natural habitat. I need to stick to what I know and what I do best, and that’s singles up the middle, opposite field approach. And if they hang me one and I’m a little early, I get it. That’s the biggest difference from my first 40 at-bats to these last 40 at-bats.”

Schanuel hit .093 with a .422 OPS in his first 54 plate appearances. He hit one homer in the Angels fourth game, so that may have encouraged him to keep trying to pull the ball over the fence.

Schanuel said Angels hitting coaches Johnny Washington and Tim Laker implored him every day to get back to his normal approach, and a couple weeks ago he apparently got the message.

Over Schanuel’s last 57 plate appearances, since April 17, he’s hit .365 with a .911 OPS. He’s even hit two homers, but they have come because of what the pitcher gave him more than what he was trying to do.

“I kind of got ahead of myself earlier in the year trying to do something that I’m not used to doing,” Schanuel said.

Manager Ron Washington agreed Schanuel now has the proper mindset as he goes to the plate.

“It’s nice to see that he’s settled down,” Washington said. “I just hope he can keep it going through the rest of the year.”

Washington moved Schanuel back into the leadoff spot after Mike Trout was hurt. Schanuel showed his value in that spot by working Cleveland Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee for an 11-pitch at-bat to start Friday’s game.

Although he ultimately grounded out, Schanuel was satisfied that he put the Angels on the way to what became a 6-0 victory. Schanuel had a homer, two singles and a walk in his remaining plate appearances.

“I wasn’t trying to see every pitch, but I was trying to let the guys behind me see what he’s got and that’s what I intend to do every first at-bat, see as many pitches as possible,” Schanuel said. “Even though it didn’t go my way, I still walked out of that at-bat with some pride. It definitely set up the rest of the team and definitely set me up for the rest of the game.”

WHAT ABOUT DRURY?

The Angels are still waiting to see the Brandon Drury who was a key run producer last season.

The infielder came into Sunday’s game hitting .169 with one homer and a .459 OPS. Last season he hit .262 with 26 homers and an .803 OPS.

“He’s not there and we certainly need him to get there,” Washington said. “So he’s got to keep working. We know it’s in him, but he’s the one that has to find it.”

Drury said he was just starting to find his swing when he hit an opposite field homer on April 14 in Boston, but since then he’s missed time with a hamstring injury and a neck injury.

“The past few issues that he’s had zapped his strength,” Washington said. “I’m not making excuses for him, because if you decide to go in that lineup, you’ve got to play. You can’t use excuses. If you’re going to use your health as an excuse, then you shouldn’t be in the lineup. It’s that simple. We’re not looking for bravo people. We’re looking for people that can play.”

NOTES

Catcher Logan O’Hoppe, who bruised his right hand when he was hit by a foul ball on Saturday, was available to play in an emergency on Sunday. O’Hoppe did some throwing and hitting before Sunday’s game. …

Infielder Luis Rengifo missed a second straight game because of an illness, but Rengifo said he was feeling better. Washington said he might be available to come off the bench.

UP NEXT

Angels (LHP Tyler Anderson, 2-3, 2.23) at Pirates (RHP Mitch Keller, 2-3, 5.18) at PNC Park, 3:40 p.m. PT Monday, Bally Sports West, 830 AM.