Don’t overlook this up-and-coming SS in All-Star race

Read our story on the balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters.

The 2025 All-Star Game ballots were released on Wednesday, with the Midsummer Classic just around the corner.

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Among the many intriguing positional battles, the competition for American League shortstop looks to be a fascinating one. Bobby Witt Jr. is the presumptive frontrunner given his superstar status and the fact that he ranks as a top 10 player again with 3.1 Wins Above Replacement, according to FanGraphs. Behind him, things get interesting, with a few players possibly vying for a starting job.

With Gunnar Henderson enduring a down season by his standards (1.3 WAR and a .749 OPS), it’s opened the door for shortstops like Jeremy Peña (.870 OPS and 3.2 WAR) and A’s rookie Jacob Wilson (.363 BA and 3.1 WAR).

But don’t sleep on Angels shortstop Zach Neto.

The 24-year-old didn’t debut until April 18 due to offseason shoulder surgery, but in 43 games entering Friday's game against the Mariners, Neto is hitting .270/.308/.517 with a 132 wRC+, 10 home runs and eight stolen bases. Since April 18, Neto’s 1.5 fWAR is seventh-best among shortstops. If you look at Baseball Reference’s version of WAR, Neto fares even better, with his 2.5 bWAR tied with Wilson and trailing only Peña (3.8) and Witt (2.9) despite playing in roughly fewer than 20 games than those players.

Neto might not ultimately get the starting nod over Witt -- a face of the sport that has still been awesome if not below his absurd 2024 level -- or even Peña and Wilson, for that matter. But there’s a good chance we’ll see the Halos’ young shortstop in Atlanta for the All-Star Game.

Here’s how Neto has entered the conversation as one of the top shortstops in baseball.

The following numbers are through Thursday's games.

Incremental improvements

You’re probably vaguely familiar with Neto’s path in professional baseball.

The Angels drafted him 13th overall out of Campbell University in 2022. In Angels fashion, they aggressively promoted him the following year, and he debuted on April 15, 2023, at Fenway Park and became the quickest player from the ’22 Draft to reach the Majors.

After holding his own in his debut season (88 wRC+ and 1.1 fWAR in 84 games), Neto broke out in 2024, posting a .761 OPS and becoming the first Angels shortstop with a 20-20 season (23 home runs and 30 stolen bases). By fWAR (3.5), Neto was a top 15 shortstop. By bWAR (5.1), Neto graded out as a star, only trailing Witt, Henderson, Francisco Lindor and Elly De La Cruz.

Neto has built upon that breakout with an even bigger season in 2025.

Neto in 2024 (155 G) vs. 2025 (43 G)

OPS: .761 vs. .825
wRC+: 114 vs. 132
fWAR: 3.5 vs. 1.5 (on pace for 4.9)
bWAR: 5.1 vs. 2.5 (on pace for 8.4)
HR: 23 vs. 10 (on pace for 33)
SB: 30 vs. 8 (on pace for 27)

Based on Neto’s output in 43 games, he’s on pace to significantly outperform his 2024 season, if he were to play in the remaining 101 games on the Angels’ schedule. Given that Neto played in 155 games last season, it’s not far-fetched to think Neto can exceed 140 games despite missing the first three weeks of the season.

Neto is also tracking for a potential 30-30 season by a shortstop, which has only been done by six primary shortstops in MLB history: Bobby Witt Jr. (2023-24), Francisco Lindor (2023), Hanley Ramirez (2008), Alex Rodriguez (1998) and Barry Larkin (1996). Neto would be the only one of that bunch to do so in fewer than 150 games.

Power uptick in 2025

Neto’s improvements at the plate are no joke.

His expected wOBA -- which looks at a player’s quality and quantity of contact -- sits at .369. That figure is 14 points higher than his actual .355 wOBA and sits in the 81st percentile. Neto’s .369 xwOBA only trails Witt (.379), Bo Bichette (.376) and Corey Seager (.376) among qualifying shortstops. Neto’s 52-point jump in xwOBA this season -- tied for the 20th-largest jump among any qualifying hitter and tied with Anthony Volpe for the largest among shortstops -- stems from one of the biggest power improvements of any hitter in the Majors.

Neto’s contact quality in 2024 vs. 2025

LA sweet-spot rate: 29.0% vs. 47.1% (largest jump among qualifying hitters)
xSLG: .414 vs. .551 (seventh-largest)
Avg. exit velocity: 88.5 mph vs. 91.8 mph (eighth-largest)
Barrel rate: 8.4% vs. 15.7% (ninth-largest)
Hard-hit rate: 38.8% vs. 47.1% (21st-largest)

Thanks to Statcast’s various bat-tracking and batting stance stats released over the past few years, we can see how Neto is making more impactful contact.

Neto’s bat-tracking in 2024 vs. 2025

Bat speed: 71.0 mph vs. 71.4 mph
Blast rate: 10.4% vs. 15.2%
Swing tilt: 33° vs. 37°
Intercept point: 11.9 inches vs. 15.3 inches

Neto’s three-degree increase in swing tilt -- his swing has essentially gotten less flat -- is tied for the second-largest gain of any qualifying player. Meanwhile, his intercept point -- where the hitter makes contact with the ball -- is roughly four inches closer to the pitcher.

Having moved up roughly three inches in the box and added a notable amount of bat speed, Neto is now making contact with the ball 15.3 inches in front of home plate. That only trails Xander Bogaerts, Eugenio Suárez, Jose Altuve and Anthony Santander among qualifying players.

“That’s just something that feels comfortable. I just want to hit the ball in front of the plate,” Neto said. “Kind of get less break on those offspeed pitches [and breaking pitches] and it helps me out with the sinker before it’s moving. You know, trying to get the ball before it’s dancing. That’s definitely something I worked on right before I got hurt [last year]."

Neto didn’t make any wholesale swing path changes over the offseason, if only because his November shoulder surgery prevented him from swinging a bat much. But the Angels’ shortstop said he utilized mental reps during the offseason to help him have a seamless transition when he returned.

To Neto, the biggest change has been his ability to get his A swing off more frequently.

“I’ve been getting my best swing off more often than I did last year, hitting the ball way harder,” Neto said. “Just hitting my pitch and not missing it. Doing damage to it, whether it results in an out or a base hit.”

Because Neto is getting to the ball farther in front of the plate and his swing is better optimized to make hard contact, he’s among MLB’s best with his pull power.

Of the 348 hitters with at least 50 batted balls, Neto’s 21.5 percent rate of pulled hard-hit balls in the air is just shy of Cal Raleigh's league-leading 21.6 percent clip, which is not bad company to be in given that the Mariners’ backstop is tracking for one of the best catching seasons of all time. Pulling this many hard-hit balls in the air is a big deal, given that those types of batted balls have produced a league-wide 1.755 slugging percentage this season.

Neto has also done this damage as a leadoff hitter, producing the type of pop that’s become more common in the leadoff spot as teams are more apt to use their big bats there. Even more interesting is the fact that Neto has truly shone in the game’s opening frame, with his five leadoff home runs only trailing Shohei Ohtani and Francisco Lindor (six apiece).

Neto says he didn’t do much leading off growing up, but started doing it in his final year at Campbell University and during his time in the Minors with Double-A Rocket City.

“It’s something I’m getting comfortable with every day. You try to get the first pitch to hit and if you don’t, you make it a team at-bat,” Neto said. “Kind of work the count a little bit, especially early in the game and kind of get all that information. And if I don’t get on, pass it over to my teammates.”

Neto’s changes at the plate haven’t come without a cost. His strikeout rate has jumped 5.9 points to 29.2 percent, while his walk rate has dropped roughly two points to 4.3 percent. Interestingly enough, though, Neto’s chase rate has dropped by 5.4 percent, while his whiff rate hasn’t budged much.

As mentioned above, Neto has already become the first Angels shortstop with a 20-20 season and, based on his pace, could become one of the rare 30-30 shortstops. If you look at Neto’s last 162 games, though, he’s slugged 30 home runs and swiped 33 bags. Based on his improvements at the dish this season, it’s not far-fetched to think Neto could find himself in the 30-30 club at some point soon.

Neto’s defense, meanwhile, has received mixed reviews from varying defensive metrics. If you’re using Statcast’s Outs Above Average, he’s at minus eight runs the last two years. Ultimate Zone Rating sees Neto closer to league average, while Defensive Runs Saved thinks he’s spectacular, with 18 runs saved since last year, second-most among all shortstops. If you take the middle ground and call Neto an average defensive shortstop, that’s still remarkably valuable given his offensive contributions.

At just 24 years old, Neto has all the ingredients of a franchise cornerstone and budding All-Star. With Mike Trout entering the decline phase of his extremely likely Hall of Fame career and spending more time on the injured list each year, Neto looks like the key player the Angels can build around for years to come.

MLB.com’s Angels beat reporter Rhett Bollinger contributed his reporting to this story.