Neto's Batting Shift
Angels' Zach Neto Finds Offensive Success with Shift to Opposite-Field Hitting
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Angels shortstop Zach Neto has quietly turned his season around by changing where he hits the ball. Since June 23, he is batting .295 with a strikeout rate of just 24% — down sharply from 33% earlier in the year, according to Press Telegram.
Neto is now hitting .237 with a .787 OPS and 19 home runs on the season. At that pace, he is on track to blow past his career-high of 26 homers set last year, OC Register reports.
A Swing Change That Flipped His Season
Before June 22, Neto was pulling the ball 52% of the time. He hit to the opposite field only 19% of the time. That heavy pull tendency made him easier for pitchers to attack, according to Daily News.
Since then, Neto started going the other way more. The results followed fast. His strikeout rate dropped nearly 10 percentage points. His walk rate also climbed. He is making more contact and doing more damage, SB Sun reported.
Power Numbers Rising as Neto Finds His Stroke
Neto's 19 home runs put him well ahead of last year's pace. His career-high is 26, set in the previous season. If he keeps hitting at this clip, he will shatter that mark before the year is out, according to Press Enterprise.
His overall batting average of .237 is modest. But his .787 OPS tells a more complete story. OPS combines on-base percentage and slugging — it measures how much a hitter gets on base and hits for power. That number has trended upward since his approach changed, Daily Breeze noted.
Defensive Errors Were a Problem — Until Recently
Neto's glove has been a concern this season. He committed 14 errors, the second-most among all shortstops in the majors. That was a real weak spot for the Angels, OC Register reported.
But that problem appears to be fading. Neto has made just one error since June 13. That stretch of clean play matches the same window in which his bat heated up. Both sides of his game are trending in the right direction at once, according to SB Sun.
What This Means for the Angels Down the Stretch
The Angels have struggled as a team in 2024. A healthy, productive Neto gives them a legitimate building block. He is young and showing he can adjust when things are not working, Press Telegram noted.
The changes he made — hitting to all fields, cutting strikeouts, walking more — are the kinds of habits that stick. If Neto keeps this up through the final months of the season, he could finish as one of the more productive young shortstops in the American League, Daily News reported.
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