Angels News: Zach Neto Ranked Among Top Rookies in American League

He has provided a major boost this season!

The Angels are in the midst of a potential playoff push right now, although things aren’t looking great for their chances. However, lost in all the Angels star power there are some quality players on the roster. One of them includes rookie shortstop Zach Neto.

Neto has been a key member for the Angels this season and the team looks very different when he is in the lineup. His emergence has allowed the Halos to find a potential future piece to their puzzle, and it’s been great to see.

He only played 44 games in the minor leagues before being called up to the major leagues. Neto never saw Triple-A, and that’s due to the upside that he showed in Double-A.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic ranked Neto as the 9th best rookie in the American League, which is some high praise from the former MLB general manager.

“The Angels promoted Zach Neto straight from Double A this year after only 44 games of minor-league experience and it paid immediate dividends. With Neto at shortstop, the Angels are 38-29; without him, they are 22-33. Neto provides solid at-bats and is a fantastic defender. Unfortunately, he’s dealt with oblique and back injuries that have hindered what could have been a stronger rookie season. He’s been on the injured list for most of the month but is reportedly close to resuming baseball activities."

Per The Athletic

For the year, Neto is hitting .241 with eight home runs and 30 runs batted in. He has battled through some injuries throughout the year but has still been productive when healthy.

Neto should continue to be a productive member of this club for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, he can return to the lineup sooner rather than later to continue getting more reps at the big-league level.

The Halos have something here with Neto, and no matter what happens the rest of the way, their priority should be to get him more reps. This will help him, not only this year but going forward as well. He is still very inexperienced, so any extra time he can get at this level, the better.