Issues aren’t significantly shiny in Anaheim proper now, however even amidst the Angels’ struggles, a number of the workforce’s younger gamers are thriving. A type of gamers is Zach Neto, who in his sophomore marketing campaign seems like an improved model of himself on the plate. His full-season wRC+ is as much as 107, a mark that has been propelled by continued enchancment as temperatures have gotten hotter. Within the first month of the season, Neto posted a meager 79 wRC+, however within the two which have adopted, he has seemed like an All-Star, with a 130 wRC+ in Could and a 123 to date in June. Regardless of not having massive uncooked energy, he’s been capable of constantly drive the ball.
Final yr, Neto was abysmal within the prime third of the strike zone. He merely couldn’t deal with excessive heaters, along with his .194 wOBA in that space of the zone within the backside decile of the league. It’s a gap that’s too straightforward to reveal. Any pitcher with an honest four-seamer that options at the least common journey may reside there when dealing with Neto and never be apprehensive the shortstop would do any injury. It was an issue that held again his total offensive profile, and with out mitigating it, his prospects as a hitter weren’t promising. However as struggling younger gamers typically do, Neto seemed to make a change.
At first of the season, I observed an adjustment Neto had made in his setup that appeared straight focused at this challenge: He raised his palms in his stance in order that he might be faster to the ball. It’s intuitive, actually. In case your palms are already up there, it’s simpler to fireside and get your barrel to the ball. Right here’s what that seemed like:
Decreasing motion appeared prefer it may doubtlessly result in a smoother transition into Neto’s downswing, nevertheless it didn’t work. He nonetheless struggled within the higher third, and it was clear that the brand new technique wasn’t viable; his wOBA on pitches within the higher third was .197 over the primary three weeks of the season. On the floor, the change made sense, nevertheless it didn’t work nicely with the strengths of his swing.
Neto doesn’t have a naturally flat swing path. In keeping with SwingGraphs, he had a vertical bat angle (VBA) within the 73rd percentile in 2023 (steeper than common) and an assault angle (AA) within the 89th percentile. This yr, his AA hasn’t modified a lot in any respect and his VBA sits within the fiftieth percentile. The drop in VBA is probably going because of him making contact with greater pitches on common. Mechanically talking, the mixture of elevating his palms and having a vertically oriented swing doubtless would have labored higher if he didn’t begin so flat in his setup. However even then, there are only a few hitters who can begin their palms excessive with a vertical barrel and switch the bat over shortly sufficient to have the ability to regulate in numerous components of the zone. Sadly for Neto, he simply isn’t Ronald Acuña Jr. Any change he made to his hand top would doubtless should be near impartial if he needed to arrange his vertically oriented bat path nicely.
Typically, hitters ought to try to make reciprocal actions. In case your bat is steep on the level of contact, it’s doubtless you’ll need to arrange with a motion that easily transitions your physique into that place. Neto won’t have particularly thought this fashion when scrapping his excessive palms, however his adjustments have pushed him in the appropriate course.
For such a younger participant, it’s clear Neto has a knack for adjusting. He adopted a leg kick within the minors that helped propel his success and fast call-up. He makes use of a toe faucet two-strike method, as his leg kick may result in extra whiffs and strikeouts. And eventually, he moved away from his excessive palms when it grew to become obvious it wasn’t the answer to his struggles versus excessive pitches.
As I discussed earlier, Neto has hit like a star because the starting of Could, and the adjustment he made to his hand placement appears to be enjoying an enormous half. Since Neto makes use of each a leg kick and a toe faucet, I’m going to point out you just a few of every. This alteration in swing and mindset has helped him change into a killer on pitches within the higher third (.427 wOBA total). Listed here are a few of his swings from this season:
Toe Faucet
Leg Kick
It’s clear this model of Neto’s load and swing is smoother. You’ll typically hear baseball of us say that gamers who look easy once they swing or throw are shifting in a approach that’s kinetically environment friendly. When inspecting Neto’s swings in Could and June in comparison with earlier this season and in 2023, they give the impression of being easy. There aren’t any hitches or over-exertions. His impartial hand top and vertical bat set him up for a clear transition into his swing. Basically, if you take away hitches out of your swing, your mechanics change into extra repeatable. Any further noise can disturb the loading sample that units up the swing path.
To assist illustrate what I’m speaking about, let’s zoom in on how Neto’s bat strikes final yr (left) versus this yr (proper), paying explicit consideration to the changes in his setup made to his palms and barrel angle:
If a hitter can take away hitches of their load like Neto has, they’ll doubtless change into extra accustomed to the place their bat is in area. There was numerous bat waggling and hitching earlier than he bought to his downswing in 2023. Now, the motion primarily comes from one easy hand row (the motion of the palms earlier than the downswing) with out the additional bat wiggling.
These are each two-strike swings. In 2023, Neto had a .323 xwOBACON in two-strike counts. When he made contact, there was hardly any injury. Despite the fact that his two-strike whiff price this season is sort of an identical to final yr’s, he’s considerably improved his contact high quality, to the tune of a .399 xwOBACON. To me, that signifies an improved bat path. And the truth that he’s accomplished this with two strikes and in opposition to excessive pitches has helped him enhance on the areas that have been main weak factors in his recreation beforehand.
Neto will not be within the Bobby Witt Jr./Gunnar Henderson class of younger shortstops, however he’s rising as a possible cornerstone participant in Anaheim. His total recreation is a piece in progress – his protection remains to be coming round – however with the optimistic indicators in his offensive profile, I believe there may be reputable four-win upside right here. It’s at all times thrilling to see a younger participant make tangible enhancements this early in his profession, and that’s very true with a man who has such a definite type of hitting.