Promising Angels rookie lands on injured list

The Angels put rookie shortstop Zach Neto on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain Thursday evening. Infielder Andrew Velazquez is up from Triple-A Salt Lake to take the active roster spot. The Halos also optioned reliever Jimmy Herget to Salt Lake while recalling left-hander Kolton Ingram from Double-A Rocket City.

Losing Neto is the most significant of Thursday’s developments. He was pulled from Wednesday's game with side tightness. Oblique strains can lead to absences pushing or exceeding a month, but the young infielder told the Angels’ beat, including Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, that he's already feeling better he’s hopeful of a quick return.

Neto was the 13th overall pick in last summer’s draft. The first player from his class to reach the big leagues when he was promoted in mid-April, the Campbell product has stabilized the middle infield. He’s off to a strong .259/.338/.431 start to his MLB career, connecting on six home runs in 199 trips to the plate. While Neto isn’t drawing many walks, he’s running a lower than average 18.6% strikeout rate while averaging north of 90 mph on batted balls.

It’s a very impressive start for a player who had all of 44 minor league games under his belt prior to his aggressive promotion. He’s been a key contributor to a 38-32 club that sits just a game and half back of the Yankees for the last wild card spot in the American League.

Velazquez steps into the shortstop role Thursday night against the Rangers. It’s the first MLB action of the season for the glove-first infielder, who suited up 125 times for the Halos last year. He’s hitting .203/.337/.392 in 23 games with Salt Lake.

Ingram, meanwhile, joins Phil Nevin’s bullpen for the first time. If he’s called upon to pitch, he’ll be making his major league debut. The Halos initially added him to the 40-man roster last winter to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft but this is his first MLB call.

A 37th-round draftee of the Tigers in 2019, he was released by Detroit without reaching full season ball. He caught on with the Halos in 2021. The 5’9″ reliever has had an intriguing showing in the Texas League, working to a 2.63 ERA across 27 1/3 innings. He’s punched out over 32% of opponents at the Double-A level, though he’s also walking a career-high 16.1% of batters faced.