Neto spent first MLB season with Angels learning, adjusting
ANAHEIM ❯❯ Six months ago, the question lingering over Zach Neto was whether his exaggerated leg kick would work in the major leagues.
Now, after more than 300 plate appearances in the majors, Neto said even he has had some moments of doubt.
“There's been some thoughts of me maybe taking it off,” Neto said, adding that he had the idea “when it's not going good for me at the plate” and he felt the need to “try to switch the momentum up.”
Neto entered the final weekend of the season hitting .222 with a .678 OPS and striking out in 23.4% of his plate appearances. All of that is worse than the major league average. He hit nine home runs.
However, considering that Neto is 22 and only played 48 professional games before his major league debut, it's not bad. Neto was the Angels' first-round draft pick in July 2022.
“This is the first time he's had to deal with a little bit of failure and I don't really call this failure,” manager Phil Nevin said. “He considers it failure because he's used to hitting .400 in college and he's hitting .230 in the big leagues. You try to explain to him how impressive it is. But it's still frustrating making outs whenever you do.”
Nevin also suggested that Neto still might make some adjustments with his leg kick.
Nevin recalled seeing Bryce
Harper as a 17-year-old in the instructional league.
“If you think (Neto) has a big leg kick, go look at videos of Bryce when he was that age, the violence in his swing,” Nevin said. “There's still some violence in there. Has to be for what Bryce is able to do. But it's cut down and it's cut down naturally. He's understanding what pitchers are trying to do, understanding situations in the game.
“I think the same thing is going to happen to Zach. We're not going to sit here and tell him `You can't use the leg kick.' Those are things that players figure out on their own.”
Neto has always eliminated the leg kick when he gets to two strikes. And Nevin pointed out that Neto is strong enough to still hit homers while cutting down the leg kick. And he's going to get stronger. “He's still growing physically,” Nevin said. “Our bodies are a lot different now than they were when we were 22.”
Neto said preparing his body for the grind of a 162-game season is one of the things he wants to work on this winter. He was injured twice this season, missing a month with an oblique injury and another month with a back injury.
“I know how much rest I need, especially how important it is for me and my body,” Neto said. “I know what I've got to work on. Now when I go back home, I know what I have to do to make sure I become a better player coming back. It just all takes time. It all takes effort. Hopefully, I have the right group of people when I go back home, and all the resources I need to come back and be a better ballplayer.”
While he has room to improve as a hitter, his defense was exceptional. Nevin said it was one of the reasons the Angels were better when he was in the lineup. The Angels are 39-39 when Neto starts, and 32-49 when he doesn't.
Next up for Walsh
Jared Walsh briefly gave reason for optimism about his return when he homered in his first two games back in the majors earlier this month.
After that, though, the story changed.
Walsh was 3 for 32 with 18 strikeouts and no walks after those first two games.
A day after the Angels optioned Walsh, Nevin said Walsh was “catching up all year” after missing so much time with the neurological issues that cost him time in April and May.
“Health-wise, he's good now, but you get out here every day at the big league level and it kind of compounds on you,” Nevin said. “He's going to go home and have a normal winter, and I'm excited to see what he's like when he comes into spring training. I don't know what the future holds.”
Walsh might not be with the Angels in spring training. He is arbitration-eligible, so if the Angels offer him arbitration he'd end up with a salary of $2.5 million to $3 million. If the Angels don't offer him arbitration, he will become a free agent.