A rising shortstop surpasses Trout as the Angels' top homegrown talent. His impressive WAR and consistent improvement signal a bright future.
The Los Angeles Angels certainly aren’t known to be one of the most competent teams in the MLB when it comes to drafting and signing international free agents. Having had one of the league’s worst farm systems for the past few years, the Angels haven’t had many assets to work with to improve their roster in hopes of returning to a competitive team.
Still, that doesn’t mean it’s been all bad for the Halos in the player development department. As Joel Reuter noted in his recent Bleacher Report article, the face of the Angels' future is a homegrown player himself.
The Halos selected shortstop Zach Neto in the first round of the 2022 Draft, and he made his MLB debut just a season later. Playing in 84 games in his 2023 rookie campaign, Neto flashed loads of potential on an otherwise bleak Angels roster.
He’s only lived up to his potential since then, posting back-to-back 5.1 WAR seasons in 2024 and 2025. In each of his major league seasons, Neto has seen improvements in his batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. Year after year, Neto is only getting better for the Angels, and at 24 years old, Angels fans can only hope for many more seasons of the same.
Reuter selected Neto as the Angels' best homegrown player over the likes of superstar Mike Trout. At first glance, it may seem outrageous, but given the regression Trout saw and Neto’s improvement in 2025, it’s the correct choice. There was no player more valuable on the Halos’ roster last season than Neto; even Trout’s 1.5 WAR at the DH spot wasn’t nearly enough to put him over Neto as the team’s current best homegrown player.
There are no signs of slowing down for Neto, who could be in the conversation for his first All-Star game appearance in 2026. Taking time off at the end of 2025 to correctly deal with an injury, Neto will be heading into next season with great health and the keys to the franchise. He’ll likely continue to be the most valuable player once again in Anaheim next season.
Though the Angels haven't had a great history of draft picks in recent memory, there’s no question that they got it right with their Neto selection. They’re proud to call Neto, one of baseball’s rising star shortstops, their own.