Zach

Neto

The Angels could not break through against Bryan Woo as they were held scoreless through six innings. The team finally put some runs on the board in the seventh, including a two-run single by Zach Neto to drive in two of the team’s three runs in their defeat to the Mariners. The 25-year-old shortstop is hitting .227/.322/.453 with 18 homers, 59 runs scored, 42 RBI, and 11 steals across 379 plate appearances.

Neto is up to 18 homers, though as a leadoff man for a team with a weak bottom of the order, he’s knocked in only 40 runs. Of course, his own .226 average isn’t really helping there, either. He does have 40 walks in 83 games, however. Tonight’s moved him past his previous high of 39 in 155 games in 2024.

Neto led off the bottom of the first inning with a base hit and scored on a home run by Nolan Schanuel. He later doubled in the fifth and scored for a second time on a base hit. The 25-year-old shortstop has struggled to hit for a good average, batting .229 over 357 plate appearances, but continues to contribute elsewhere across the board with 17 homers, 56 runs scored, 39 RBI, and 11 steals.

Neto was hitless in the game until he blasted a go-ahead two-run shot off Elvis Alvarado in the ninth inning. He’s now up to 17 home runs and 39 RBI on the season. While his .225/.327/.457 slash line is not overly impressive, he has hits in five of his last seven games, going 7-for-25 with four home runs and seven RBI.

Neto at least got the Halos off on the right foot in what ended up being an 8-1 loss. The Angels were discussing moving him down in the lineup because of his recent struggles, but he has four hits, including two homers and a triple, the last two days. His .228 average isn’t much to look at, but his .330 OBP and .449 slugging percentage are fine, and he’s scored 51 runs in 72 games.

Neto took Merrill Kelly deep for a solo homer in the third inning, then totaled seven bases on the day with a leadoff triple in the fifth before scoring on a home run by Mike Trout. The 25-year-old shortstop is hitting .223/.325/.436 with 14 homers, 50 runs scored, 33 RBI, and 11 steals across 326 plate appearances.

It’s a good thing at this point that the Angels don’t have any big financial incentive to send Neto down, because that’s the kind of thing they might consider in light of his recent struggles. He’s struck out a whopping 19 times in his last eight games, increasing his season strikeout rate from 29 percent to 32 percent. 29 percent was already disappointing enough, as he came in at 23 percent in 2023 and ’24 and 27 percent last year. He’s still an excellent talent, but one can’t help but wonder if he’d be a better player right now if he was drafted by a different franchise.

The Angels put up a run in the first inning, then did not reach base again until the ninth, when Neto took Jack Dreyer deep for a solo homer. It was the 11th of the season for Neto while hitting .232/.340/.436 with 43 runs scored, 28 RBI, and 10 steals across 282 plate appearances.

Neto returned to the leadoff spot and picked up a pair of thefts after missing three games earlier this week as a result of whiplash symptoms stemming from a home-plate collision last weekend. The 25-year-old shortstop’s absence was out of an abundance of caution and he passed concussion protocol earlier this week. He shouldn’t miss any additional time.

Neto missed each of the team’s previous three games due to symptoms of whiplash following a collision at home plate on Saturday. He’s starting at shortstop and hitting atop the Halos’ lineup against Dodgers’ right-hander Roki Sasaki.