SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Zac Veen arrived at spring training with long, purple hair.
“I’ve wanted to do it for a few years now,” the Rockies outfield prospect said. “I just wanted to wear the team colors. Wherever I play this year, I want to show the team colors.”
That means the 23-year-old will likely begin the season sporting the red of the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes or the blue and green of the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats.
I would have laughed if you had told me two years ago that Veen would still be waiting to make his big-league debut. Because Veen, once the Rockies’ hottest prospect, still has the size, speed and talent to make his mark in the majors. I thought his debut would come in 2023.
But baseball is a cruel game and Veen has felt its wrath.
He’s missed most of the past two seasons because of injuries. He was limited to 46 games in ’23 after undergoing surgery to repair his left wrist. Last season’s injury to his right thumb was even more frustrating because it was self-induced, resulting from his frustration spilling over.
Last May, Veen was hitting .326 with five home runs through 28 games with the Yard Goats. But his back was bothering him, and despite the solid numbers, he said, “I really didn’t feel like myself.”
After striking out in a game against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Veen slapped the top of his batting helmet, like he often does. But this time, he slapped the helmet just as he reached the dugout. He hit the roof of the dugout “pretty hard,” pinching his thumb and index finger.
“I jammed my thumb. … It was a self-inflicted (injury),” Veen said.
He went on the injured list and missed more than a month of playing time, returned, and then went back on the IL. The lingering pain was worrisome, but an examination showed that he didn’t need surgery.
“If I didn’t do that to my thumb, I would have been healthy the whole year,” he said. “But I think that set me up for the rest of my career in terms of what I learned.”
What was the lesson?
“That one at-bat isn’t worth missing two months over,” he said. “That was devastating to have that happen and have to sit out that long. I wish I could take it all back.”
Veen, ranked Colorado’s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline, was promoted to the Isotopes in late August. His performance was a mixed bag. Over 21 games, he batted just .220 and struck out 26% of the time but had six home runs and three doubles. He also stole six bases.
Despite his flowing purple locks, Veen has faded into the background a bit, and the Rockies are taking a long look at outfield prospects Yanquiel Fernandez and Benny Montgomery this spring.
But Veen has not been forgotten and believes his time is coming.
“I feel great,” he said. “I feel like last year was a huge learning lesson for me and I now know what it takes, mentally and physically, to stay on the field.”
Manager Bud Black, always in a prove-it-to-me mode regarding young players, wants to see Veen do precisely that.
“There are a number of things we want to see,” Black said. “First of all, availability. That starts right now. Is he making every practice? Is he doing every drill? Is he available to play every spring game?”
Black said the Rockies will be scrutinizing Veen’s baserunning, which can be both aggressive and a bit careless, and his swing, which tends to be a little too big with “a little too much of an uppercut.”
“There are a lot of things, but the No. 1 thing for me is for him to play,” Black said. “Wherever he goes, he needs to play. And then play the next game, and then play the next game after that.”
Veen plans to do a lot more than simply show up.
“In my eyes, I’m still the same ballplayer I was two years ago,” he said. “I can’t really help what the media has to say about me or what the rankings have to say. I know what kind of player I am, and I’ve put in a lot of work.
“I would love nothing more than to be a part of a team that’s been struggling and be a contributor to a turnaround.”
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