Neto graduated from Miami's Coral Park High School. He earned Second Team All-American honors as a junior after batting .442 with 38 hits, including eight doubles, six triples and a home run.

In 2021 in college, Zach had an awesome year, slashing .405/.488/.746 and was named Big South Conference player of the year.

Neto is Campbell University's most talented position prospect since Cedric Mullins.

Neto had barely played during the shortened 2020 season before winning Big South Conference player of the year honors the following spring.

After leading the Big South Conf. in all three slash stats (.405/.488/.76) in 2021, he went to the Cape Cod League and proved himself with wood bats against tougher competition, helping Brewster win the championship. (July 2022)

July 2022: The Angels chose Neto in the first round (#16 overall), out of Campbell University in North Carolina. Zach signed via scout Nick Gorneault for $3.5 million, under the slot value of $4.24 million.

2022 Season: The first-ever first-round pick from Campbell, where he won consecutive Big South Conference player of the year awards and set a school record with a career .403 average, Neto kept raking despite aggressive assignments to High-A and Double-A. He led all draftees with 44 hits in 37 games while batting .299/.377/.476 with 15 extra-base knocks.

In 2023, the Baseball America Prospect Handbook rated Zach as the Angels' 2nd-best prospect.

In the spring of 2023, the Angels called up Neto. He arrived at Fenway Park just three hours before the first pitch on a Saturday afternoon. It’s just nine months after he was selected out of Campbell University. 

“I’m excited to be here,” Neto said about 20 minutes after arriving in Boston. “I feel like I just took a 5-hour Energy shot. I’m ready. I’m ready to go.”

He said he expected to be called up this year. But he thought maybe in September. Probably after the All-Star break. Not in April. Even his family thought he was messing with them when he called.

Neto had an excellent spring training, posting an .828 OPS in 16 games. Then he was assigned to Double A, where he has a 1.347 OPS to start the season. He was great in Double A last year, as well. His defense is above average.

Neto’s locker name tag was a bit rag-tag. It did not look like the other 25 players in the clubhouse. It matched the hastiness with which he was called up. Unplanned. But official and real nonetheless.

Neto got a couple of hours of sleep. Woke up when it was still dark. And made his way to one of baseball’s most hallowed cathedrals. It’s not a completely uncommon call-up story. But not exactly how you’d expect a top prospect’s major-league journey to begin. “He’s going to make us better,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “That’s why we’re doing it.” (Blum - April 15, 2023 - The Athletic)

In Neto, who described himself as a “swaggy player” in his first comments to reporters after the Angels drafted him last July, Perry Minasian, Angels general manager, had a kindred spirit. Neto, according to his college coach, Justin Haire, always believed he could jump in and compete with anyone. Right-hander Thomas Harrington, a teammate of Neto’s at Campbell, echoed that sentiment.

“The way he displays confidence, I just knew there wasn’t any way he wasn’t going to get into The Show this year,” said Harrington, who went to the Pirates at No. 36 last year, 23 spots behind Neto, and currently is at Class A.

Neto, as a non-roster invitee to major-league spring training, said he initially was nervous playing with Trout, Ohtani and the Angels’ other established major leaguers. But his goal was to learn from the veterans, build relationships with them. That way, if he was called up later in the season, he would not just be some unknown rookie, trying to fit in.

As it turned out, Neto played better than expected, producing an .828 OPS in 16 games. The Angels kept him around for the Freeway Series against the Dodgers, their final exhibition games of the spring, wanting to test him in more of a major-league environment. In the two games at Angel Stadium, Neto went 3-for-5 with two doubles.

“Nothing fazed him,” manager Phil Nevin said of Neto’s spring performance. “There was no moment too big.”

Neto shows an ability to make adjustments on the fly, in one instance abandoning his unorthodox leg kick and adopting a two-strike approach against Yankees left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr., a pitcher who likes to disrupt a hitter’s timing. And he continues to impress the Angels’ staff with his alertness in the field, always positioning himself properly for cutoffs and relays, even calling pickoff plays on his own.

“He has solidified the infield defense, that’s for sure,” Nevin said.

Neto, during his brief time with Rocket City last month, did something Cheris had never seen before, wear custom cleats to represent his minor-league team.

“Coming from Miami, the swaggy part of me as a player, I was like, not only do I want to play the best, I want to look the best,” Neto said. “I took two pairs of my cleats and sent them down to Miami to get them customized. I told the guy, ‘Look, I don’t care what you do with these cleats. I don’t care what design you put on them. The only thing I ask is you put my team logo on ‘em and my number on the back.’”

Neto also distinguishes his look by smearing eye black on his face in different designs, saying, “If people can’t already see that I like to be flashy, they can definitely see it with the eye black.”

But lest anyone get the wrong impression of Neto, consider what he did with his custom cleats after the Angels promoted him from Rocket City. He left them for Wynn Cole, a young Trash Pandas fan he had befriended.

“He had come into my heart,” Neto said. “His family always reached out and supported me. A kid who goes to every game, who wouldn’t want to give him those kinds of cleats? I’ll hopefully never have to wear those again. Hopefully I’ll stay in the big leagues for a while. But just being able to make someone’s day, that’s what made my day.”

Both Haire, Neto’s college coach, and Schatzley, his Double A manager, describe their former player the same way, saying he demonstrates a unique blend of confidence and humility. Schatzley added, “he’s extremely coachable, a joy to manage.” Harrington, Neto’s former college teammate, called him one of the most selfless players he has known.(Rosenthal - May 5, 2023 - The Athletic)

Aug. 29, 2024: Marking his 20th home run of the season, Neto became the first infielder in franchise history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases within a single season. He is the eighth Angels player to have a 20/20 season, with Shohei Ohtani being the last Angel to reach the feat in 2021 and 2023.

Neto is the third Angels player age 23 or younger to accomplish a 20/20 season alongside Mike Trout and Carney Lansford. 

Mothers Day Tribute: Angels shortstop Zach Neto has the same routine before and after every game.

He makes sure to call his mom, Maggie, to talk about life, baseball and everything in between to help him stay grounded and positive during the grueling baseball season. The time difference can make it difficult because his mom and his dad, Joaquin, live in Miami but they always find a way to make it work.

“My mom means everything to me,” Neto said. “I talk to her every day, whether it’s a good or a bad day. Just making sure I have a phone call with my mom before the game and after the game. She does her best to wake up whenever I call after late nights with the time change. So that can be pretty tough, and it just shows you the person she is. She's my biggest fan and she's been there since Day 1.”

Neto, 24, has emerged as a face of the franchise for the Angels, leading the club in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) last year and he is off to a strong start this season after missing the first 18 games of the season because of shoulder surgery in November. But he credits his mom for instilling the value of a strong work ethic and developing self-confidence.

His mom is now retired after a successful career working for AT&T and she still always makes time for Neto and his passion for baseball. He honored her on Mother’s Day on Sunday by using a pink bat and pink batting gloves in the Angels’ 7-3 loss to the Orioles at Angel Stadium.

“She's a special woman,” Neto said. “And I thank her for taking me to all the tournaments as a little kid, especially in Florida, playing year-round. Going to work and taking me to practice and games after her work. She’d get up at six in the morning and wouldn’t go to bed until like two in the morning, making sure I have my laundry done for the next day for my games. I like to think I’m a hard worker but she’s No. 1.”  Neto said his daily conversations with his mom help with his mindset and she often reminds him that baseball is supposed to be fun. Her advice has helped keep him even-keel during the ups and downs of a season.

“She tells me every day, ‘Don't think, have fun, just go out there and play your game,’” Neto said. “She says it’s always good seeing me on TV with a smile on my face. So I try to do the best for her and my family. And just know that no matter what happens, that my family is always gonna be there.” 

Neto said his parents usually come to two homestands a year and usually two road cities as well. His father, a Navy veteran, still works as a city carrier for the United States Postal Service but they try to see Neto play as often as possible.

“Whenever they come, it’s like a dream come true,” Neto said. “I feel it's like my debut all over again. They’re trying to knock all the away ballparks out. It's special to see them.” (R Bollinger - MLB.com - May 11, 2025) 

Aug 16, 2025: Neto reached an impressive milestone only attained by a few Angels players and American League shortstops.

Neto smacked his 20th homer of the year in a 10-3 loss to the Athletics, giving him his second straight season with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases. He became just the fourth player in Angels history with multiple 20/20 seasons, joining his teammate Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Don Baylor. Additionally, Neto became just the sixth shortstop in AL history to record multiple 20/20 seasons, as the only others to accomplish the feat are Alan Trammell, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Francisco Lindor and Bobby Witt Jr.

“It means a lot, especially where it all started at the end of last year and starting late this year [because of shoulder surgery],” Neto said. “Just coming back with all the perseverance and everything I had to overcome and stuff. I’m pretty grateful to be able to do it.” (R Bollinger - MLB.com - Aug 16, 2025)

Neto has a short, quick righthanded swing and makes a lot of loud contact generating power-producing bat speed. Neto has an unconventional setup with a huge leg kick that includes a slight pause at its apex and an uphill right-handed swing, but he has the exceptional hand-eye coordination to make it work. He looks to drive balls in the air to his pull side yet makes consistent contact despite his approach. He has at least solid bat speed and consistently gets into good position to do damage.

He has a 60 grade hit tool, with 50 power.

Zach is an aggressive hitter focused on making contact, but he will draw the occasional walk and limits his strikeouts. A potentially plus hitter, Neto has just average raw power and modest exit velocities, but his ability to backspin the ball and solid bat speed give him a chance to approach 20 home runs at maturity.

Neto has a chance to be the Angels' long-term solution at shortstop and has the bat to be an above-average regular even if he moves positions. He could reach Anaheim as soon as 2023. Taylor Ward - Baseball America Prospect Handbook - Spring, 2022)

Zach has a noisy operation at the plate, with plenty of pre-pitch bat-waggle and hand movement during his load, as well as a big leg kick. Despite all those moving parts, Neto has made the swing work and has produced plenty of contact with Campbell, with more walks (53) than strikeouts (49) throughout his career. Listed at 6-foot, 185 pounds,

Neto shows only average raw power in batting practice, but he backspins the ball consistently and has solid bat speed and barrel manipulation—enough so that scouts think he’ll get to every ounce of the raw power that he does have, with potentially above-average game power depending on the major league environment. There are some questions about whether his setup will need to be simplified at the next level against better competition, but so far Neto has shown an ability to be on time. (BA - July, 2022)

Angels fans probably don’t think that Neto’s season needs an adjective. He’s just been good. He has a .779 OPS, which is 15 percent better than the average hitter, except he’s doing it as an excellent defensive shortstop. It’s less a sneaky good season and more of a sneaky great season.

We’ll let it qualify for this exercise because we’ll stretch the exercise to allow Neto’s breakout season to feel sneaky good about the Angels franchise as a whole. No, seriously. They drafted Neto 13th overall just two years ago, and he’s already thriving in the majors and looking like a franchise cornerstone.  (Brisbee - Aug 20, 2024 - The Athletic)

2024 Season: On Sept. 18, Zach became the third player in Angels franchise history to have 20 home runs, 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases in a season.

Neto leads the Angels in a multitude of statistical categories: fWAR, offensive fWAR, stolen bases, RBIs, and games played (to name a few). According to Baseball Savant, Neto's Batting Run Value ranked in the 87th percentile of major leaguers. The 23-year-old shortstop was amidst a breakout season and was helping keep the Angels relevant and watchable following season-ending injuries to Mike Trout and Ben Joyce.

Neto is the fourth player in Angels history to have multiple 6+ RBI games in a season, joining: Mo Vaughn (1999) Kendrys Morales (2009) Mike Trout (2019).

Aug. 11, 2025: Neto broke the Angels single-season leadoff HR record, which was previously held by Brian Downing with seven in 1987. The homer was also Neto's 49th in his career as a shortstop, which passes Dick Schofield for second-most in Angels history. (Sam Garcia - SI)

Aug. 16, 2025: Neto smacked his 20th homer of the year in a 10-3 loss to the Athletics, giving him his second straight season with at least 20 homers and 20 stolen bases.

He became just the fourth player in Angels history with multiple 20/20 seasons, joining his teammate Mike Trout, along with Shohei Ohtani and Don Baylor. (Rhett Bollinger - angels.com)

Zach can see action at shortstop and second base and while second base seems more likely to be his ultimate position, his athleticism gives him a shot to stay at shortstop. He is a 55 grade defender with a 60 grade arm.

Neto is a good athlete with a plus, accurate arm in the infield. He has good footwork, hands, and instincts at shortstop, but he'll have to improve his focus and learn when to hold onto the ball rather than force ill-advised throws. (Spring, 2023)

Neto has quick hands and feet, and his instincts may help him be an average defender at shortstop, though his range may be better suited for second base at the next level. His arm isn't a question. He hit 93 mph as a reliever for the Fighting Camels.

He started games at all four infield positions in his final collegiate season. (Spring 2022)

July 2021: Neto missed the last three weeks of the Cape Cod season with and ankle injury.

June 15-July 14, 2023: The Angels placed rookie shortstop Zach Neto on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain.

Aug 4-Sept 10, 2023: Neto was on the IL with lower back inflammation.

Nov. 6, 2024: Neto underwent shoulder surgery.

Feb 27-April 18, 2025: Neto was on the IL while recovering from his November right shoulder surgery. 

Sept. 16-29, 2025: Neto was on the 10-day injured list due to a left hand strain.

Neto, 24, initially injured his hand when he was hit by a pitch from Reds right-hander Nick Martinez on Aug. 20 and aggravated it later on a swing in Seattle.