Biography
Zachary Adam Neto (born January 31, 2001) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Campbell Fighting Camels. He was selected by the Angels in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2023.
Early life
Zachary Adam Neto was born on January 31, 2001, in Miami, Florida, as one of three children in a working-class Cuban American family. His father, Joaquin, is a mailman while his mother, Magali, is an AT&T employee. Neto grew up as a Miami Marlins fan and learned baseball from his father.
Neto began high school at Doral Academy Preparatory School but left after two weeks. He later enrolled at Miami Coral Park Senior High School. Neto posted a career .407 batting average and was selected to three All-District teams at Coral Park but did not receive significant college scouting due in part to the high leg kick in his swing mechanics. He went unselected in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft and did not receive an athletic scholarship offer from any Power Five university. Neto partook in college bus tours organized by Lazaro Llanes, a local scout, where he was first introduced to Campbell University. Prior to his senior year in high school, Neto committed to play college baseball for the Campbell Fighting Camels.
College career
Neto honored his commitment to attend Campbell and enrolled for fall 2019. He arrived on campus at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg) and began eating six meals a day at the school's cafeteria to aid in his new weight training regimen. He began the 2020 season recovering from a cyst removal surgery on his right hand. Campbell intended to use Neto as a two-way player but he appeared in only four games (including one as a pitcher) before the remainder of the season was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That summer, he played in the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League with the Delray Beach Lightning, where he batted .439 with six home runs and 32 RBIs in 40 games and posted a 4.50 ERA in 10 pitching appearances.
In 2021, Neto batted .405 with 12 home runs, 58 RBIs, 17 doubles, and 12 stolen bases over 44 starts at shortstop. He primarily pitched out of the bullpen, going 4–0 with a 3.43 ERA and 16 strikeouts across 21 innings in 11 appearances (one start). Following the season, he was named the Big South Conference Player of the Year, first-team all-Big South, and received All-American selections from several organizations, including second-team from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Following the season's end, he played in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Brewster Whitecaps. During his time there, he sprained his ankle during a play and was released by the team due to the injury; however, he ultimately rejoined the roster before the end of the season, considered a rare occurrence. He finished the summer season batting .304 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in 16 games.
Prior to the 2022 season, Neto was named to the watchlist for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the best amateur baseball player in the country. Neto finished the regular season batting .407 with 15 home runs and 50 RBIs over 53 games. He led Campbell to Big South regular season and tournament championships as well as a berth to the 2022 NCAA tournament, winning the Big South tournament MVP in the process. He was later named Big South Player of the Year and first-team all-Big South for the second consecutive season. He was also named to several All-American teams, including first-team from Perfect Game and second-team from the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and D1Baseball.
Neto entered the 2022 Major League Baseball draft with media consideration as one of its top prospects. MLB.com and The Sporting News ranked him 17th on their top prospect lists while Keith Law of The Athletic ranked him 9th. He participated in the MLB Draft Combine at Petco Park in San Diego in June 2022.
Professional career
The Los Angeles Angels selected Neto in the first round with the 13th overall selection of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. The selection made him the highest draft pick in Campbell baseball history. He signed with the team for $3.5 million.
Neto was initially assigned to the Tri-City Dust Devils of the High-A Northwest League to begin his professional career. In seven games with the team, he batted .200 with one home run and four RBIs. On August 9, he was promoted to the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Double-A Southern League. During a re-rank of the MLB.com Angels top 30 prospect list in mid-August, Neto was listed as the second-best prospect in the team's farm system, only behind trade deadline acquisition Logan O'Hoppe. Over 30 games with Rocket City, he batted .320 with four home runs and 23 RBIs. Between the two teams, he finished the 2022 season batting .299 with five home runs, 27 RBIs, and five stolen bases in 37 games.
Neto returned to Rocket City to open the 2023 season. On April 15, 2023, Neto was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time, making him the first member of the 2022 MLB draft class to debut. A day later, Neto picked up his first hit, a single into left field, in which he also eventually scored on. Neto was hit by a pitch seven times in his first 15 major league games, an MLB modern era record. On May 9, he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez. On June 14, Neto was sidelined after describing the feeling of a cramp during pregame warmups. The next day, he was placed on the injured list with an oblique strain.
Neto played in 155 games for the Angels in 2024, slashing .249/.318/.443 with 23 home runs, 77 RBI, and 30 stolen bases. On November 8, 2024, it was announced that Neto had undergone shoulder surgery to repair an injury he had suffered in the final week of the season.