After tearing up last season’s Futures Game and earning offensive player of the year in the Arizona Fall League, the Zac Veen hype train is pulling into spring training with a full head of steam.
The 21-year-old is Colorado’s top overall prospect and the centerpiece of the Rockies’ rebuild. He’s in Scottsdale, Ariz., as a non-roster invite to major league spring training and is set to make his Cactus League debut.
The Rockies’ first-round pick at No. 9 overall in 2020 out of Spruce Creek High School in Florida, Veen breezed through the lower minors. He slashed .301/.399/.501 in his debut professional season with low-A Fresno in 2021, then took 92 games to conquer high-A Spokane last year before earning an August promotion to Double-A Hartford.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pounder struggled in his brief tenure with the Yard Goats, hitting .177 with one home run in 77 games. He projects to start the season there again this year. Veen’s played both right and left field in the minors so far, and with his speed, he could even profile as a center fielder. Veen has 91 steals in the minors, including racking up 50 thefts in 54 tries last year for Spokane.
The outfielder’s power has been encouraging so far, too. He has 27 homers along with 50 doubles and a .806 career OPS.
Veen’s five-tool skill set was on display last July at Dodger Stadium, where he was the lone Rockies prospect to play in the Futures Game. He was 2-for-3 with a pair of opposite-field singles and two steals.
