Angels’ Ron Washington Makes Controversial Zach Neto Statement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Josh Valdez | Last updated May 22, 2025 7:41 PM ET

The Los Angeles Angels are on a seven-game win streak despite Mike Trout's (knee) absence, and their shortstop is a big reason why. Third-year veteran Zach Neto is having a breakout season, as he's slashing .296/.341/.560 with eight homers and 19 RBI after Thursday's 10-5 win over the Athletics.

The 24-year-old went 3-for-5 with a RBI and two runs scored on Thursday, extending his hitting streak to seven games. He also has hits in 17 of his last 19 contests, with multiple hits in seven of those.

Angels manager Ron Washington had high praise for him before Thursday's game, via The Orange County Register's Jeff Fletcher.

The 73-year-old skipper said that Neto is the best shortstop in the AL, although he admitted he's "biased."

While the 2022 first round pick is undoubtedly playing well, he's still behind Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr., who's slashing .305/.368/.508 with five homers and 28 RBI through 51 games. The latter player also was the 2024 MLB batting champion in addition to earning All-Star, All-MLB first team, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove recognition.

Zach Neto's 2nd hit of the game drove in a run to pull the Angels within 3-2 in the 5th.

His OPS is up to .899.

Today Ron Washington said he's the No. 1 SS in the AL, although he admitted he's "biased."
— Jeff Fletcher (@JeffFletcherOCR) May 22, 2025

Neto was the first member of the 2022 MLB draft class to debut in the big leagues, as he was called up on April 15, 2023. The 5-foot-11-inch, 185-pounder slashed .225/.308/.377 with nine homers and 34 RBI in 84 games that season. He followed that up with a .249/.318/.443 slash line in addition to 23 homers and 77 RBI in 155 contests last year.

The Angels swept the Los Angeles Dodgers and Athletics back-to-back, and will host the Miami Marlins in a three-game set starting on Friday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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