The Los Angeles Angels on Saturday announced that they have called up infield prospect Zach Neto. The 22-year-old Neto becomes the first member of the 2022 MLB draft class to make the majors, and Jeff Passan tweets that he's expected right away to be installed as the Angels' starting shortstop.
To make room on the active roster, infielder David Fletcher has been demoted to Triple-A. Fletcher's demotion comes despite the fact that he's signed to a five-year contract.
Neto, the No. 13 overall pick out of Campbell University, will make his big-league debut after just 44 games in the minors, 37 of which came last season after he signed. He'll be skipping over Triple-A entirely. Over those 44 games, Neto slashed a robust .322/.408/.529 with eight home runs, 10 doubles, and eight stolen bases across High-A and Double-A.
Coming into this season, our expert R.J. Anderson ranked Neto as the No. 2 prospect in the Angels system. Here's part of his write-up:
"Neto was well-regarded by scouts heading into the draft thanks to his baseball IQ and his ability to hit the ball hard at a good angle without selling out or sacrificing his contact chops. He's also a tolerable shortstop, though he's likely to be viewed as a second-division player there. The Angels seem likely to continue their aggressive timetable with Neto, making him a compelling candidate to debut early in the 2023 season."
The Angels, who enter Saturday with a 7-6 record on the season, have received a .666 OPS from the shortstop position thus far in 2023. Gio Urshela has received a plurality of the reps at the position, but he's perhaps best deployed as a "super utility" sort.
