Where does Zach Neto rank amongst the American League shortstops?

If there was any doubt who the most important Angels player was heading into 2025 and beyond, Zach Neto dispelled it with his play in 2024. During his age-23 season, Neto was the most valuable player on the team. His 3.4 fWAR was the high mark on the team. The eye test backed it up, meaning that he was one of the few players who actually made it through the season both healthy and effective enough to stay on the roster.

Many fans are clamoring for more award recognition for Neto now that the finalists are being named. Bobby Witt Jr., Brayan Rocchio, and Anthony Volpe were named Gold Glove finalists, and Angels fans were left slightly dumbfounded by Neto's absence. While Neto's defensive prowess is not as good as those three (they were top 3 in defensive fWAR, Neto was 17th), the lack of recognition does warrant an evaluation of where Neto's overall game stands amongst his fellow American League shortstops.

Neto played 155 games as the Angels shortstop, and did not play anywhere else (not even as DH). His 155 games as shortstop were the fifth most in the American League, narrowly trailing Witt Jr., Volpe, Jeremy Peña, and Gunnar Henderson. His Angels-leading 3.4 fWAR was also fifth amongst the AL SSs, trailing Witt Jr., Henderson, Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, and tied with Volpe.

In terms of standard offensive statistics, Neto was maybe the most productive American League shortstop not named Bobby Witt Jr. Outside of Witt Jr., Neto lead AL SSs with 34 doubles. Outside of Witt Jr., Neto lead AL SSs with 29 stolen bases. Neto's 77 RBIs ranked 3rd, behind Henderson and, you guessed it, Bobby Witt Jr. He lead American League shortstops with 16 HBPs, so that's kind of cool too. OBP, baby!

When it comes to who teams would build around moving forward, he is right there at the top. Of the American League shortstops to build a franchise around, you can easily pick Witt Jr. and Henderson as your top guys. It would be delusional to put Neto in their tier. Then you get to Seager and Correa, who are both turning 31-years-old next season. Both were better than Neto in 2024, but when you factor in how much younger and cheaper Neto is...you could easily talk yourself into taking the Angels' SS over those two. As crazy as it sounds, Neto is a better building block than those two World Series winning shortstops moving forward. Now, how about guys like Volpe, Peña, and Bo Bichette? Either way, you're getting a good option. It just depends on your taste. Volpe is a defensive wizard, Peña is a proven winner, and Bichette has flashed incredibly high highs in the past.

The point is this: Neto is a stud. He's only getting better too. Maybe next year, he will be one of the best shortstops not just in the American League, but in all of baseball.