Zach Neto

Zachary Adam Neto

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• School Campbell University
• High School Coral Park High School
• Debut April 15, 2023

• Born January 31, 2001 in Miami, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Zach Neto was the first player taken in the 2022 amateur draft to make his major league debut when he took the field on April 15, 2023 as the starting shortstop for the Los Angeles Angels against the Boston Red Sox. He batted eighth and went 0 for 4 with a pair of strikeouts in the game in a 9-7 loss. In a surprise move the previous day, the Angels had sent down veteran infielder David Fletcher, an undisputed regular only a couple of years earlier but who had by now lost his starting job and was mired in a 2 for 16 season-opening slump. Neto had been the 13th overall pick in the draft, out of Campbell University, the highest draft pick in school history, one year after the Angels had famously drafted nothing but pitchers in the 2021 amateur draft, and while considered a top prospect was not seen as one likely to streak to the majors particularly fast. Ironically, another Angels player, pitcher Chase Silseth, had been the first player from that draft to make it to the Show a little under a year earlier.

When he was drafted, Neto was coming off two outstanding seasons at Campbell University, hitting .405 in 2021 and .407 as a redshirt sophomore in 2022 (he had only appeared in 3 games in 2020 when the college season was ended by the COVID-19 pandemic and as a result the season was not counted against his future eligibility). He made the All-Tournament team of the 2021 Big South Conference Tournament and was named MVP of the 2022 Big South Conference Tournament. Neto was an occasional pitcher in college, but the Angels had no intention of using him on the mound. He was assigned to the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League to start his career, then after 7 games was promoted to the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the AA Southern League, where he hit .320 in 30 games. In 2023, he was hitting .444 after 7 games for Rocket City when he was called up to Anaheim. In his rookie season, he played 84 gamed for Los Angeles, batting .225 with 9 homers and 34 RBIs for an OPS+ of 86. he had two stints on the injured list, costing him a month of action each time: he was down with a left oblique strain from mid-June to mid-July and with lower back inflammation for most of August and the first week of September.

In 2024, he had a very good season, playing 155 games for the Angels and batting .249 with 23 homers and 77 RBIs. He also stole 30 bases in 40 attempts. He was 7th in the American League with 34 doubles, and 10th in stolen bases. His OPS+ was 113. He had to undergo surgery on his right shoulder after the season, which kept him out of action for the first two weeks of 2025, his debut only coming on April 18th. However, he continued right where he had left off the previous year, establishing himself as one of the team's offensive leaders over the next two months. On June 24th, he seemed to reinjure the shoulder when he was thrown out trying to steal, and he left the game an inning later when the injury led to a wild throw. By then he had a new keystone partner, with Christian Moore, a top pick in the 2024 amateur draft, having been promoted to L.A. only a couple of weeks earlier, joining 1B Nolan Schanuel, another top pick, in 2023, who had also sped through the minor leagues on his way to L.A. The trio was key to the team's future success. Zach only missed a couple of days and ended up playing 128 games, finishing at .257 with 26 homers and 62 RBIs. He also stole 26 bases and his OPS+ was an excellent 120.

On May 18, 2026, he gave the Angels an improbable victory with a spectacular walk-off home run. J.T. Ginn of The Athletics had kept the Angels hitless through the first eight innings, and the A's had scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th. Adam Frazier broke Ginn's bid to write his name in the history books with a lead-off single, and Zach was the next batter, and he drove a pitch over the center-field wall for a two-run homer.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (2024 & 2025)

Further Reading

• Rhett Bollinger: "Surprise! Angels call up No. 2 prospect Neto for MLB debut: SS first '22 Draft pick to reach Majors; Fletcher optioned to Triple-A", mlb.com, April 15, 2023. [1]
• Brent Maguire: "Why this 2022 Draft pick is hitting ahead of Trout and Ohtani: After 44 Minor League games, Angels’ Neto has prime lineup spot", mlb.com, May 7, 2023. [2]
• Brent Maguire: "Don’t overlook this up-and-coming SS in All-Star race", mlb.com, June 7, 2025. [3]

Related Sites

• Zach Neto on mlb.com
• Campbell University bio