Twins Daily Draft Preview: Zach Neto

[Jamie Cameron]

Zach Neto, a two-way college shortstop, has been heavily linked with the Twins in recent weeks. Who is he? Why might the Twins select him? Why might they stay away?

 

Over the next week leading up to the draft, Jeremy and I will be writing more in-depth previews on ten players the Twins might take with the eighth overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. Today, we look at a late riser in the draft process, Zach Neto, a college shortstop from Campbell University.

Who is He?
Zach Neto is a 6’0, 185-pound shortstop out of Campbell University in North Carolina. Neto will be 21 on draft day, having just completed his redshirt sophomore season. He was named Big South Conference player of the year in both 2021 and 2022. This season, he was a two-way player (an infielder and a relief pitcher) but will be drafted as an infielder in July. He’s likely to be Campbell’s first-ever 1st round pick in the MLB Draft.

Why the Twins Will Draft Him
Neto has an extremely strong all-round game. Throughout his college career, he put up a .751 SLG in three seasons and slugged 12 home runs in 2022. He posted a 3.43 ERA as a relief pitcher in 2022, through 21 innings. Finally, he is a strong base runner, going 28-33 in stolen bases throughout his college career. He also allayed fears of over-performing against pitching in a weaker conference by playing well in the wood-bat, Cape Cod league. 

Neto pumped a 93 mph fastball as a relief pitcher. While he will be drafted as an infielder, its indicative that he has the arms needed to stick at shortstop. Neto shows strong all-round tools, all grading at 55 better, except fielding (50). While he hasn’t developed a ton of power, his bat speed and barrel control are good enough to think it will develop in time.

Neto is an intriguing prospect for the Twins. They have been heavily linked to him in the pre-draft process by a number of industry sources. It’s possible the Twins draft Neto, sign him to an under-slot deal, and use the additional bonus pool money on an arm at pick 48 as there are a number of intriguing options in that range.

Why the Twins Won't Draft Him
This is the first time since 2017 that the Twins will pick in the top ten, and hopefully, the last for a while. Neto doesn’t have one outstanding tool. It’s possible the Twins would be balking at a much better bat (hit, power, or both) by selecting him.

Neto has a strange approach at the plate with a big leg-kick, a pause in his swing, and does not have elite bat speed. That approach could be something that hinders him at the plate against professional pitching.

If one of the top seven consensus players in the draft (Jones, Holliday, Johnson, Green, Parada, Lee, Collier) were to make it to eight, the Twins may have a hard time passing a potentially elite upside. Neto is plenty to be excited about, however. His upside is a defensively sound, starting shortstop who hits well with 15-20 home run power potential.

What are your thoughts on the Twins drafting Zach Neto? Do you think he’s a good fit for Minnesota? Share your opinions in the comments.

 

 

View full article

[RJA]

Good player summary, Jamie. I am with you—if one of the top 7 drop, grab them. But, if that doesn’t happen, I would take Neto over Berry. I always look to the Cape Cod performances, as they take away the aluminum bat factor, and you can see how a player does with wood against first class competition, and he did well. If they could get him under slot, that would be even better. I think there will be a run on arms in the second and third rounds and some extra cash would help. 

[Dman]

I like Neto and I think having great bat to ball skills along with solid defense is a nice package.  I get the unusual setup at the plate is less than ideal but I think several top prospects Jung, Lee, Parada have unusual setups as well.  I think that stuff gets overblown sometimes.  He doesn't look like someone who will be above average defensively at short so I get the concern taking him that high but bat first no position type players are not any better except for maybe more power so not sure that is an overly legit concern.  I get that it isn't all pretty when looking at Neto but looking down the list it looks like you need to drop down and take someone like Cole Young, or Jett Williams to get something comparable or maybe Juston Crawford although the slight frame gives me pause on him.  Otherwise you are back to Jung and Berry position-less players.

The latest Mocks seem to really be focusing in on the Twins taking Cross.  He fits the best with the models they use for hitters.  That pick does not excite me but I have such little information I am likely stumbling around in the dark just getting snippets of which outlet likes which players and why.  Maybe Cross is the solid play there but when has trouble hitting breaking stuff is in the profile that concerns me.  After Rooker and Sabato providing nothing I am not so sure I trust whatever model they are using anyway.

Still hoping someone takes the big versatile bat Berry and one of the other 7 drop to us.

[2wins87]

I think I like Neto best for the college position players that are likely to be available at #8.

The big leg kick and lack of power doesn't seem great, but it's kind of reminiscent of someone we've seen a lot of lately: Steven Kwan.

I don't think the bat-to-ball skill is quite on the level of Kwan's, and the level of competition he's faced is mostly a bit lower, but a guy that can play good defense at short and make a lot of contact is always still pretty valuable.

[ashbury]

Not having a particular outstanding tool to tout reminds me of the argument in favor of Nick Gordon when he was drafted.  That pick has been, um, polarizing for the fan base.  Doesn't matter what the fans think, of course, and it depends on how happy the FO is with the way Gordon has turned out. 

I would support drafting Neto if the more electric top choices don't fall to #8, but it's not a pick I'd be super excited about either. But maybe that's the nature of #8 - your odds of a superstar are low compared to the top few, but you do want to make sure to come away with a solid major leaguer.

[Jamie Cameron]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

I like Neto and I think having great bat to ball skills along with solid defense is a nice package.  I get the unusual setup at the plate is less than ideal but I think several top prospects Jung, Lee, Parada have unusual setups as well.  I think that stuff gets overblown sometimes.  He doesn't look like someone who will be above average defensively at short so I get the concern taking him that high but bat first no position type players are not any better except for maybe more power so not sure that is an overly legit concern.  I get that it isn't all pretty when looking at Neto but looking down the list it looks like you need to drop down and take someone like Cole Young, or Jett Williams to get something comparable or maybe Juston Crawford although the slight frame gives me pause on him.  Otherwise you are back to Jung and Berry position-less players.

The latest Mocks seem to really be focusing in on the Twins taking Cross.  He fits the best with the models they use for hitters.  That pick does not excite me but I have such little information I am likely stumbling around in the dark just getting snippets of which outlet likes which players and why.  Maybe Cross is the solid play there but when has trouble hitting breaking stuff is in the profile that concerns me.  After Rooker and Sabato providing nothing I am not so sure I trust whatever model they are using anyway.

Still hoping someone takes the big versatile bat Berry and one of the other 7 drop to us.

Another guy who had a really aggressive leg kick coming out? Royce Lewis. Agree, it doesn't matter. I think the Twins have created a pretty 'player friendly' development environment where they work with what a player has and don't try to change too many fundamentals.

Agree that Cross is probably the favorite. One big challenge in parsing the information. When industry types source info from teams, it's usually with assumptions about who will be left on the board, that gives us little to go on in terms of what the Twins think about guys like Brooks Lee, Elijah Green etc.

I'm pretty confident there will be at least one curveball in the top 7 picks.

[Jamie Cameron]

A couple more names the Twins have been linked with in recent days: Drew Gilbert (OF, Tennessee and a Stillwater, MN native), and Cade Horton, RHP out of Oklahoma

[ashbury]

16 minutes ago, Jamie Cameron said:

A couple more names the Twins have been linked with in recent days: Drew Gilbert (OF, Tennessee and a Stillwater, MN native), and Cade Horton, RHP out of Oklahoma

Gilbert makes a lot of sense, just from a glance at his numbers at Tennessee this year and that they played him in CF. 

Horton seems like a late first-round pick at best, again just from college numbers assuming he's got a big arm that hasn't quite put it all together yet.  Maybe he falls to the Twins in the second round.  What's the argument for him?

[Dman]

1 hour ago, Jamie Cameron said:

A couple more names the Twins have been linked with in recent days: Drew Gilbert (OF, Tennessee and a Stillwater, MN native), and Cade Horton, RHP out of Oklahoma

Gilbert could be an interesting play.  Another good contact hitter that can play center field which the system is light on right now. Has a very good arm and runs better than average not a burner but probably Nick Gordon type speed in center.  He has power maybe not elite HR power but the Twins are pretty good at getting their guys to hit for power and he does have a strong OPS so he gets his share of extra base hits.  To be honest he looks like a better contact hitter than Cross with slightly more speed a better arm but worse power at least for now.

He is slated to go in the low 20's to mid 30's.  Is this a guy that might take say a 1.5 Mil discount at 8 and then the Twins would be in range to get a pitcher in the lower 1st round as a pick in the 2nd round or is that just pie in the sky thinking?

[MplsFan]

I wonder how Neto compares to Trea Turner in their college careers?

I remember that 2014 draft thinking Turner would be a good choice, but Twins went with Nick Gordon…

[Dman]

2 hours ago, MplsFan said:

I wonder how Neto compares to Trea Turner in their college careers?

I remember that 2014 draft thinking Turner would be a good choice, but Twins went with Nick Gordon…

Turner was faster a big time bag stealer who could hit.  I think the big knock on him was his slighter frame which Neto has and his risk for injury.  I think a lot teams felt he wouldn't make it through full seasons without getting injured so he dropped some.

I think Neto likely has better bat to ball skills and probably a better arm but Turner would beat him everywhere else.  They are two pretty different prospect except for maybe the thin build.

[Jamie Cameron]

5 hours ago, Dman said:

Gilbert could be an interesting play.  Another good contact hitter that can play center field which the system is light on right now. Has a very good arm and runs better than average not a burner but probably Nick Gordon type speed in center.  He has power maybe not elite HR power but the Twins are pretty good at getting their guys to hit for power and he does have a strong OPS so he gets his share of extra base hits.  To be honest he looks like a better contact hitter than Cross with slightly more speed a better arm but worse power at least for now.

He is slated to go in the low 20's to mid 30's.  Is this a guy that might take say a 1.5 Mil discount at 8 and then the Twins would be in range to get a pitcher in the lower 1st round as a pick in the 2nd round or is that just pie in the sky thinking?

I think that's a legit option, whether it's Neto, Gilbert, or whoever. There are very good prep/college arms in play at 48 and someone is bound to fall. Maybe I'll write up some options for the 48 pick if the Twins chose to go under slot at 8 if folks are interested...

[Dman]

6 minutes ago, Jamie Cameron said:

I think that's a legit option, whether it's Neto, Gilbert, or whoever. There are very good prep/college arms in play at 48 and someone is bound to fall. Maybe I'll write up some options for the 48 pick if the Twins chose to go under slot at 8 if folks are interested...

My bigger question is if the Twins could save 1.5 Million off of the 5.4 Million they get at pick 8 (for Neto, Gilbert some other comparable player) then couldn't they make a deal with one of the pitchers expected to go say in the low 20's and pick them at 48 as that pick is worth 1.6 million and if you add the 1.5 million saved that puts them in range of the money that player would receive at say pick 21 and below.  Then they would essentially be getting two lower first round talents for the price of one higher pick.

It just seems that if they don't get one of the top 7 the rest of the other players 8-30 seem fairly close to clumped together in rating.  Why not increase your odds and try and get two of those top 25 to 30 players instead of waiting for pick 48.  

Still if one of the top 7 fall it would be hard to pass on a player that could have All Star potential or be a special player.  It just seems like the Twins are one pick too short to get one of those unless of course other teams try to spread their money around as well.

[RJA]

I for one would love an article on possibilities at 48 if the Twins go under slot at 8. Can never have too much draft coverage?!

[tony&rodney]

Neto looks like a really good player but Lesko still seems totally enticing.

[gil4]

10 hours ago, ashbury said:

Gilbert makes a lot of sense, just from a glance at his numbers at Tennessee this year and that they played him in CF. 

Horton seems like a late first-round pick at best, again just from college numbers assuming he's got a big arm that hasn't quite put it all together yet.  Maybe he falls to the Twins in the second round.  What's the argument for him?

Most of what I know about Gilbert was this play, and it wasn't his finest moment:
 

It may look like a quick hook, but the crew chief said he had warned him already about arguing balls and strikes while he was in CF.  (It takes a lot to get a ball/strike warning from CF,) 

If the Twins decide to draft him, hopefully it's after doing a bit of extra due diligence.