ANAHEIM — Zach Neto has been back in the Angels lineup and at shortstop for three weeks, and his bat is clearly at peak form.
His arm, however, remains a work in progress.
Neto, who had shoulder surgery last fall, has been managing his throws, saving the 100% throws for when it’s necessary. When the runner is slow, Neto practically lobs the ball across the infield, just in time to get the out.
There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. In fact, it can be a good thing in the long run. When Neto, 24, was younger, he said he didn’t have have discipline to preserve his arm the way he does now.
“I was very hard headed,” he said. “I always wanted to show off my gun and show what I had. Now that I’ve had surgery on my shoulder, and know how precious my arm is, now I look back and thank my college coaches and even here in pro ball, making sure that I can sustain the whole year with my arm.”
So far Neto said he doesn’t believe there have been any plays that he was unable to make because of his arm, even though he’s not throwing as hard.
His hardest throw this year has been 84.5 mph, while last year his hardest throw was 98.6 mph, which was the second hardest of any shortstop in the majors.
His relay to complete a double play with speedy Cedric Mullins running on Saturday night was 83.5 mph, which was his second hardest throw of the season.
“There’s nothing wrong with his arm,” manager Ron Washington said. “He’s just got to get that mental block out where he can let it go. Because you notice when he turned that double play how he threw that ball. You don’t see him get that quick arm action when he’s catching the ball normally. So it’s there.”
Neto said he’s still doing extra work to prepare his arm, including coming to the ballpark early and staying late.
“It’s a lot,” he said. “It’s something I’m not used to, because my arm has always been pretty good. I’m usually one of the first ones here and one of the last ones to leave.”
MONCADA’S RETURN
Third baseman Yoán Moncada only had five plate appearances in his minor league rehab assignment before returning to action and going 5 for 17 with two homers and a triple in his first five games.
“To be honest with you, I’ve never seen a guy that got five at-bats come back with the vengeance that he’s come back with,” Washington said.
Washington added that he believes Moncada is happier than he’s been, after missing so much time in the past few years with injuries.
“I’ve never seen him smile and have so much fun,” Washington said. “I think he’s been missing baseball for a while.”
Moncada was out with a bruised right thumb. He suffered the injury late in spring training, played for a couple weeks, and then aggravated it and needed nearly a month to get back. On Saturday night, Moncada felt some pain on a swing again, but he stayed in the game.
Washington said that’s not going to subside until after the season, but it should only be an issue when Moncada swings and misses at a breaking ball, because that’s the type of awkward swing that will hurt his thumb.
NOTES
Nolan Schanuel had his first day off of the season, so Kevin Newman got his first start at first base. Newman played 19 games at first prior to this season. “He’s looking a little fatigued,” Washington said of Schanuel. “Although he got two hits yesterday, he is a little fatigued. He has posted every single day, and I just thought it was time to give him a break.” …
Jorge Soler returned to the starting lineup on Sunday after missing two starts with groin tightness. Soler was still able to pinch-hit on Friday. …
Right-hander George Klassen, one of the Angels top pitching prospects, had to be helped off the field at Double-A after he was struck in the head by a line drive on Sunday.
UP NEXT
Angels (LHP Yusei Kikuchi, 0-4, 3.83) at Padres (RHP Michael King, 4-1, 2.22), Monday, 6:40 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM