The Angels may not need to shop for Zach Neto’s replacement if Jake Munroe keeps forcing his way into the picture.
With the organization in the middle of a major reset, Neto’s name already feels like one that could surface in trade chatter. His uneven production has made him harder to lock in as part of the long-term answer, and even the late-season surge only seems to have nudged his asking price upward. That’s the kind of situation that can push a player from cornerstone status into something more movable.
If Los Angeles does decide to pivot, the free-agent market may not offer much relief. A replacement who can bring steadier offense and hold his own defensively sounds nice in theory, but the upcoming class apparently doesn’t make that path especially appealing.
That’s where Munroe comes in. He’s not the obvious name, and he’s certainly not the polished blue-chip prospect fans might expect to solve a problem this big.
MLB Pipeline has him 20th in the Angels’ system, and he entered pro ball as a fourth-round pick out of Louisville. Still, his bat has started to demand attention.
Munroe put up an .896 OPS in 56 games with High-A Tri-City, with much of that damage coming from his ability to get on base. The Angels then bumped him to Double-A to see whether the approach would carry over, and he answered by getting even better. In 264 plate appearances there, he hit .320/.417/.491 and showed more power than he had been credited with before.
The 18 home runs he hit this season might be a tough number to simply project straight to the majors, but the pop is real enough to matter.
And the bigger point is that Munroe doesn’t need to be a perfect bet for this to matter. The Angels need some homegrown wins, and Neto has not done enough to become untouchable.
If Munroe keeps trending this way, Los Angeles could start viewing Neto as the more expendable piece. The path to a 2027 call-up is now looking a lot less far-fetched.
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