Zach Neto

Zachary Adam Neto (born January 31, 2001) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Campbell Fighting Camels. He was selected by the Angels in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut in 2023. Early life Zachary Adam Neto was born on January 31, 2001, in Miami, Florida, as one of three children in a working-class Cuban American family. His father, Joaquin, is a mailman while his mother, Magali, is an AT&T employee. Neto grew up as a Miami Marlins fan and learned baseball from his father. Neto began high school at Doral Academy Preparatory School but left after two weeks. He later enrolled at Miami Coral Park Senior High School. Neto posted a career .407 batting average and was selected to three All-District teams at Coral Park but did not receive significant college scouting due in part to the high leg kick in his swing mechanics. He went unselected in the 2019 Major League Baseball draft and did not receive an athletic scholarship offer from any Power Five university. Neto partook in college bus tours organized by Lazaro Llanes, a local scout, where he was first introduced to Campbell University. Prior to his senior year in high school, Neto committed to play college baseball for the Campbell Fighting Camels. College career Neto honored his commitment to attend Campbell and enrolled for fall 2019. He arrived on campus at tall and and began eating six meals a day at the school's cafeteria to aid in his new weight training regimen. He began the 2020 season recovering from a cyst removal surgery on his right hand. Campbell intended to use Neto as a two-way player but he appeared in only four games (including one as a pitcher) before the remainder of the season was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That summer, he played in the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League with the Delray Beach Lightning, where he batted .439 with six home runs and 32 RBIs in 40 games and posted a 4.50 ERA in 10 pitching appearances.