DETROIT – Nolan Schanuel admitted he didn’t think too much about his defense before this year.

“It’s not that I didn’t care about defense,” said the Angels first baseman. “For me, offense was the only priority. And now that mindset has changed to where both are priorities.”

Of course, this comes directly from manager Ron Washington, who has built much of his career on defense. Although Washington is best known for his work with infielders, he has placed an emphasis on overall defense all year long.

How did it work?

“I never had high expectations because I’ve never seen these guys before,” Washington said Wednesday. “I think the defense was good. The outfield defense was a little shaky. But I think as far as the changes in the infield, these guys did well. We didn’t have a regular third baseman. We didn’t have a regular second baseman. We just had a regular shortstop and a regular first baseman.”

“With everyone else, we try to build them up to the point where they understand how to defend. When I started here, my expectation was that we knew we had to build something, and we’re still doing that. We’re still building.”

According to Sports Info Solutions, the Angels rank 17th in MLB in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). According to StatCast, they rank 28th in Outs Above Average (OAA).

Among the more traditional statistics, the Angels rank 19th in fielding percentage. They are fifth in defensive efficiency, which is a simple measure of how often they turn balls in play into outs. They are second in double-play percentage, which is how often they get a double play when a runner is on first base and there are fewer than two outs.

The best individual stories came from Schanuel and right fielder Jo Adell.

Schanuel ranks 17th out of 39 qualified first basemen in the OAA and 9th in the DRS with at least 500 innings.

“Night and day,” Washington said of Schanuel. “In February he was so stiff, and now he thinks he can move at first base, and it shows. I think he’s become one of the better infielders at getting the ball out of the dirt. I don’t think I’ve seen him miss one this year. When the ball hits the dirt, he catches it.”

Neto has always been known for his defense. He is the third-best shortstop in MLB in Defensive Runs Saved, but he is 34th in Outs Above Average. He is the fifth-best player in the major leagues in Defensive WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.

“He can be one of the best shortstops in the game,” Washington said. “There are still some things he needs to know. There are still some reaction plays he needs to learn to deal with. But I feel very comfortable and I think any baseball team would be happy with him as a shortstop.”

Neto said he “refined” his technique in a season under Washington, but the remaining problems are mental, he said.

“My mistakes were that I was moving my shots up the court and the ball came to me and I made a mistake,” Neto said. “I think that’s probably the next step for me, just trying to separate my hitting and my defense.”

The other two infield positions were a revolving door, making it difficult for the Angels to achieve any defensive consistency. They used nine third basemen and eight second basemen.

In the outfield, Adell has gone from a liability to an above-average player, ranking fourth in DRS and 17th in the OAA.

“Once I got into the mindset of being aggressive, I was able to read the game better and make better decisions,” Adell said. “A lot of my plays that looked really difficult became a little easier because I could read the ball better.”

Center fielder Mickey Moniak ranks 19th in DRS and 22nd in OAA, and left fielder Taylor Ward ranks 13th in both metrics.

NOTES

Right-hander Jose Marte, who had been on the injured list because of a virus, developed shoulder soreness when he began throwing again, Washington said. There is no timetable for his return. …

Right-hander José Soriano, who is out because of arm fatigue, has not yet started throwing again. “We’re going to continue to let him build up very slowly,” Washington said. “At some point he’ll start to improve his performance.”

Next

Angels (RHP Jack Kochanowicz, 1-3, 6.08 ERA) at Tigers (RHP Keider Montero, 4-5, 5.15 ERA), Thursday, 10:10 a.m. PT, Bally Sports West, 8:30 a.m.