Zach Neal

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Zachary Sheridan Neal

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Biographical Information[edit]

Starting pitcher Zach Neal began playing in the minor leagues in 2010 and reached the majors in 2016.

He was taken by the Florida Marlins in the 17th round of the 2010 amateur draft. In his first season, he was 2-1 with a 1.44 ERA in 7 games (6 starts) for the GCL Marlins and Jamestown Jammers. After a ho-hum 2011, he went 8-7 with a 2.78 ERA in 30 games (18 starts) for the Jupiter Hammerheads and Jacksonville Suns in 2012.

He was released by the Marlins during the 2013 spring training and signed with the Oakland Athletics. It was with Oakland that he made his major league debut, in May of 2016. He pitched 24 times for the A's that year, including 6 starts, going 2-4, 4.24 and pitching 70 innings. In 2017, he only pitched 6 times for Oakland, with no record and an ERA of 7.98. He then signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the 2018 season and made a relief appearance on April 3rd, giving up a run in an inning of work in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. On April 17th, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds with minor leaguer Ibandel Isabel in return for Ariel Hernandez. He pitched 18 times for the AAA Louisville Bats, going 2-2, 5.90, then on July 4th headed back to L.A. alongside another recent Dodgers pitcher, Dylan Floro, in return for two prospects, James Marinan and Aneurys Zabala.

He did not pitch in the major leagues from 2019 to 2022, playing for the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball instead. Though largely mediocre—his ERA was 4.49—the Colorado Rockies signed him for 2022. He spent the year with their Triple-A club, the Albuquerque Isotopes, posting a 6.87 ERA in 116 2/3 innings. The desperate Oakland Athletics signed him in April 2023 and on May 13th, he returned to the majors, making a relief appearance.

He is married to Kianna Witt, the daughter of former pitcher Bobby Witt. That gives him three brothers-in-law who are also major leaguers: Bobby Witt Jr., James Russell and Cody Thomas. The latter two are married respectively to Nikki and Shaney Thomas, who are his wife's sisters.

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