Logan O'Hoppe is the Los Angeles Angels top prospect for now, but once he gets enough MLB at-bats to disqualify him from prospect rankings, that spot will undoubtedly belong to shortstop Zach Neto.
Neto was the first-round pick of the Angels in this past draft, and the Angels sent him to AA after playing just seven games for A+ Tri-City. While playing for AA Rocket City Neto slashed .320/.382/.492 with four home runs and 23 RBI in 30 games played. That'll work!
Neto swinging the bat as well as he did in AA despite very little professional experience has Angels fans gushing over his potential. After his game yesterday, it's easy to see why.
Watch Zach Neto hit a booming double in the Angels victory vs. Dodgers
From this at-bat alone, it's easy to see why the Angels took him where they did and why they're so excited about him. Facing Alex Vesia, a reliever who had a 2.15 ERA in 63 appearances last season, one of the best left-handed relievers in the game, Neto had quite the at-bat.
He worked the count full, fouled a couple of tough pitches off, then while using his two-strike approach ripped a double to the left field wall. Neto usually uses a high leg kick, but with two strikes he tones it down to put the ball in play. It's good to see him care about striking out, most hitters don't nowadays.
The Angels not signing a big-name shortstop was a hot topic of discussion this offseason. Building a more complete roster was definitely a reason why they didn't sign someone like Trea Turner, but having Neto waiting in the wings had to have been in the back of Perry Minasian's mind as well.
This is obviously just one double, but seeing him do this in a big spot at Angel Stadium can only get you excited about his future. When Neto will actually make it up to the big leagues remains to be seen, but whenever it happens Angels fans will be thrilled.