The Los Angeles Angels have developed a reputation for holding their own against baseball’s elite, and Zach Neto is the living, breathing proof of that. The 24-year-old shortstop, now a fixture at the top of the lineup, sets the tone every game with his fearless approach and elite production — especially when facing the sport’s toughest arms.
Zach Neto: Dominating MLB’s Best Pitchers
Of the 20 starting pitchers with the lowest ERAs this season, Neto has faced eight of them — including Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, Boston’s Garrett Crochet, Houston’s Hunter Brown, Minnesota’s Joe Ryan, the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Texas’ Jacob deGrom, Seattle’s Bryan Woo, and Cleveland’s Gavin Williams.
Across 30 plate appearances against this group, Neto has racked up four singles, three doubles, three home runs, one walk, and one hit-by-pitch. The result? A jaw-dropping .357/.400/.786 slash line, a 1.186 OPS, and a .495 wOBA. Against Neto, those pitchers have collectively posted a 6.00 ERA, 8.00 FIP, and 1.83 WHIP.
He’s gone deep twice off Skubal — the only player in baseball to do so this season — and added another homer off Yamamoto. Neto has also launched memorable long balls against San Diego’s Michael King and Dylan Cease, along with Houston’s star closer Josh Hader. His confrontation with Skubal even sparked a benches-clearing incident earlier this year.
A Leadoff Machine
Neto thrives in the game’s opening moments. Two of his homers off Skubal and Yamamoto came on the very first pitch of the game. Among all players with at least 60 leadoff plate appearances this year, his .641 slugging percentage and 1.001 OPS rank second only to Shohei Ohtani.
While Mike Trout and Nolan Schanuel remain offensive standouts, Neto has been the Angels’ most consistent performer against top-tier competition. Pairing elite defense with smart, aggressive baserunning, he’s quickly becoming one of baseball’s most complete players.
As Neto continues to prove himself as a nightmare for the game’s best pitchers, one thing is clear — he’s only getting better. Pitchers beware.
