CHATHAM, Mass. — Walking from the on-deck circle to the left-handed batter’s box at Veterans Field Friday night was nothing new for Nolan Schubart. Schubart suited up as a Chatham Angler in 33 games calling Veterans Field his summer home in 2023.
Despite emerging as one of the best freshmen in the country at Oklahoma State before arriving on the Cape, Schubart struggled drastically in his tenure as an Angler. The 6-foot-5 lefty hit .216/.321/.319 while his 31.4 K% was the fourth-highest in the league.
But returning to Chatham for his first game action in a year, Schubart was now a Brewster Whitecap and arrived a more evolved offensive player. Six pitches into his first at bat back, he showed it, sending a fastball 106 miles per hour off the bat and 377 feet over the right field wall giving Brewster a 2-0 lead.
After a stellar freshman at Oklahoma State season earning Co-Big 12 Freshman of the Year Honors in 2023, Schubart elevated to a new level with a refined approach in 2024. By increasing his walk rate from 16.3% to 21.7% and decreasing his strikeout rate from 28.4% to 27.4%, Schubart saw his wRC+ go from 157 to 194 — meaning he was 94% better than the average Division I baseball player, which ranked seventh-best in the nation. Schubart is 6-for-21 (.286) with three home runs and seven walks through his first six 2024 Cape League games.
“(I worked on) becoming more of a complete hitter,” Schubart said when asked how he improved his play from his freshman to sophomore year.
To take his game to the next level, Schubart said he had to improve on fighting pitches off and staying competitive throughout an entire at bat. By giving himself extra chances when he’s down in the count or working himself into better counts, Schubart has been night and day better than he was in his first Cape League season.
Facing Chrest, whose slider was averaging around 3,000 revolutions per minute — for comparison, Corbin Burnes leads Major League Baseball averaging 2,956 RPMs on his slider — Schubart had to fight off a nasty 1-2 pitch to stay alive.
A year ago, it was a pitch Schubart would’ve had no chance of staving off. Now, he can give himself more opportunities to change the game with one swing like he did against Chatham.
Schubart said a key part of his process at the plate is sitting on fastballs and adjusting to off-speed pitches. While Chrest’s slider had marvelous spin, it sat 85 miles per hour in the first inning while his fastball wasn’t too far apart at 92. This perfectly aligned with Schubart’s plan of attack, and once he did get the fastball he was looking for, he didn’t miss the opportunity to give the Whitecaps an early lead.
“He got everything rolling with a great at bat,” Whitecaps manager Jamie Shevchik said. “Great welcome home party.”
In the third inning, Schubart stuck to his plan and it kept paying dividends. After taking a back-foot slider for ball one, Chrest tried evening the count with a fastball. Schubart cranked it down the line but it landed just foul.
When Chrest delivered the ensuing pitch — another fastball — in a nearly identical location, Schubart didn’t miss it, lacing a single into right field with a 95 mph exit velocity. It was his second hard-hit ball in as many at bats.
Though he didn’t drive in any runs this time, Brewster cleanup hitter Daniel Cuvet (Miami) quickly did, blasting a two-run homer of his own to give the Whitecaps a 4-1 lead. A realization Schubart said he came to after his freshman season is that he doesn’t need to solely rely on the long ball to produce.
Playing in the Cape League and having players like Cuvet and Andrew Fischer (Ole Miss) hit behind him, Schubart is more at ease because he knows he has premiere talent behind him in the order more than capable of driving him in.
In his last at bat of the game, Schubart showcased his improved plate discipline. Coming off back-to-back strikeouts, he had a tough lefty-on-lefty matchup facing Kyle Johnson. Still, it was clear Johnson wanted no part in facing Schubart. The southpaw continuously tried nailing the low and away corner but missed the mark. Schubart did him no favors, not swinging the bat the entire at bat and taking the walk to pass the baton along to Cuvet.
Throughout his first two collegiate seasons, it’s been clear that Schubart has been one of the best players in D-I and that he’s on a great trajectory toward being a top pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.
As he continues improving his discipline to couple with his elite power, Schubart can quickly ascend to becoming one of the best hitters at the Major League level. But the only way he can achieve that is by staying in the moment.
“Really trying to develop my game to the next step of being able to fight pitches off, stay competitive throughout the whole at bat and try not to give at bats away,” Schubart said. “Just keep going one pitch at a time and winning each pitch.”
(Photograph by Kyndall Williams)
