Zac Veen

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Zachary Richard Veen

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Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder Zac Veen was the 9th player selected in the 2020 amateur draft, by the Colorado Rockies; however, he was only the second high schooler, after Robert Hassell who was taken just before him.

He knew he wanted to play baseball from a very young age, as when he was just a sixth grader, he would bike two miles to Spruce Creek High School to watch its baseball team practice. Coach Johnny Goodrich eventually noticed him and allowed him to take part in some of the drills, seeing he was a true "baseball rat". He eventually enrolled at the school and made the varsity team as a freshman, before he had a growth spur. By the time he was a senior in 2020, he was considered the top high school player in the country, ahead of Hassell. He became friends with Austin Hays, a Baltimore Orioles prospect who was a Spruce Creek graduate, and the two practiced together. He had also worked out with Brendan Rodgers, a top Rockies prospect, in Orlando, FL. As a junior in high school, he was the Gatorade Florida High School Player of the Year. He had a commitment to attend the University of Florida, but was expected to let it drop in order to sign with the Rockies.

He was named to the National League team for the 2022 Futures Game and went 2-3 while scoring on a Jasson Dominguez fielding error. Veen had been progressing nicely through the Rockies system until the middle of 2022. After being called up to AA on August 9th after hitting .269/.368/.439 with 23 extra base hits and a whopping 50 stolen bases, he hit only .177/.262/.234 the rest of the way for the Hartford Yard Goats of the Eastern League. 2023 was a throw-away year for the 21-year-old. After spending some time in Major League spring training as a non-roster invitee, he hit just .209/.304/.308 back in 46 games in Hartford. On June 22nd, he had surgery to repair a tendon in his wrist, which put an end to his season. He originally incurred the injury while playing in Spokane the previous season, and had been playing through it the entire time - which perhaps explains his struggles during the period. He then played 65 games spread among four levels in 2024, with 36 in AA and 21 in AAA. His batting line was .258/.346/.459 with 11 homers and 35 RBIs.

Despite being very hyped all over social media, Veen was optioned to AAA to begin the 2025 season. The Rockies made this move in order to keep Nick Martini on the big league roster. He started the season by going 12 for 31 (.387) for the Albuquerque Isotopes, with 7 runs and 8 RBIs in 8 games, before getting the call to join the Rockies on April 8th, two days after fellow top draft pick Chase Dollander, to take the place of fellow prospect Jordan Beck, who was struggling with a .150 average. In his debut, he went 1 for 4 in a 7-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, his first big league hit coming when he surprised the Brewers with a bunt single off Freddy Peralta in the 6th inning.

Veen also dyed his hair purple in 2025.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Mark Feinsand: "Rockies pick Veen: 'I want to be an MVP'", mlb.com, June 10, 2020. [1]
  • Thomas Harding: "At No. 9, Veen joins friend Rodgers on Rockies", mlb.com, June 11, 2020. [2]
  • Thomas Harding: "Rockies top prospect Veen has season-ending left wrist surgery", mlb.com, June 22, 2023 [3]
  • Thomas Harding: "Veen ready to fortify Rockies' young core: 'Let's get him going'", mlb.com, April 9, 2025. [4]

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