Los Angeles Angels second-year shortstop was a good player in 2023. His .685 OPS and nine home runs in 84 games didn’t jump off the page, but the defensive metrics were well above replacement-level and his bat showed serious promise.
But he has taken a leap to bona fide cornerstone in his sophomore campaign. He has a .792 OPS in 123 games this season, having hit 19 home runs and collecting 22 stolen bases. He is the first infielder in franchise history to achieve those numbers in a season and is three home runs away from tying Jim Fregosi for the most by an Angels shortstop ever.
His batting run value ranks in the 91st percentile according to Baseball Savant, he has eight defensive runs saved via Baseball Reference and his .314 batting average since July 9 ranks 10th in the American League. Suffice it so say, Neto is not only a franchise-level player, he is already arguably the team’s best healthy player as currently constructed.
And Neto believes it’s improved discipline that has led to this success, via Jackson Stone of MLB.com:
“Swinging at strikes,” Neto said. “Definitely getting my pitches and not missing [them]. That’s something we talked about [with] my hitting coaches, you know, just pretty much stop chasing pitches out of the zone, and [instead] zone into what I want to hit. And I’ve been doing a pretty good job of hammering the balls that I want to hit.”
Angels teammates are taking notice of Neto’s growth as well. Veteran starting pitcher Tyler Anderson had kind words about the young shortstop after Tuesday’s victory.
“He’s a stud, man,” said Tyler Anderson, who picked up the win to become the Angels’ first lefty to notch 10 victories in a season since Hector Santiago in 2016. “He’s a really good player, and he’s grown a lot this year. I’m excited to watch his continued growth.”
Neto has quickly become one of the most important pieces in the Angels organization. Next to No. 2 prospect Christian Moore, the Angels may have something special happening soon in the middle of the infield.
Ron Washington seeing parallels between Angels and Royals
The Kansas City Royals had finished below .500 in every season since 2017. They finished with over 100 losses in three of the last six seasons, including 106 losses in 2023. But now, they sit in the third American League wild card spot with a high probability of making the Playoffs.
The Angels and Royals have gone through similar woes over the last handful of seasons, and Ron Washington sees the parallels between their situations as a beacon of hope for Angels fans.
