Here's the Rockies' 2024 Spring Breakout roster
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Sunday’s Rockies-Dodgers Cactus League contest at Camelback Ranch quickly became one only a father of a Rockies prospect from the opposing dugout could love. A lopsided early score threatened to turn an eventual result that was already academic into one that would be forgotten before it hit the books.
Rockies live-wire outfield prospect Zac Veen breathed life into the game and served as a reminder that sticking around to watch prospects late in these games is good fan strategy.
After reaching on a one-out bunt single in the eighth, Veen took his lead and turned his left foot so it pointed straight to second base. He all but dropped his hands like a track sprinter. This spring, Veen thinking steal has been a 100 percent proposition.
Veen made it safely to push his success rate (4-for-7) above 50 percent. But that’s the magic of Veen, the ninth overall pick in 2020. Veen and each and every Rockies Top 10 MLB Pipeline prospect will be on display during the Spring Breakout game against the Diamondbacks on March 16 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.
At 22, Veen is in a hurry to get to the Majors and, after season-ending left wrist surgery last June, is making up for lost time. His aim is to learn as fast as he plays.
“I look at it more like playing the violin,” said Veen, who, by the way, has never played that string instrument. “It takes years of practice. Your form has got to be there. Your technique needs to be there. And even then you might not play it well.
“So that’s the way I’m viewing the game, trying to get everybody informed how my body is feeling, my game is feeling. I feel a lot more in touch.”
Last spring, Veen hid how much pain a hand injury the previous summer was causing, because “being around Major League players, I wanted to go play with the boys.” In 2023 Cactus League games, he swung at darn near every pitch, batted .280 in 21 games and stole eight bases.
The compromised performance at Double-A Hartford before the surgery (.209, 2 HR, 24 RBIs in 46 games) led to him being dropped from a consistent Top 30 overall prospect ranking to one not even listed going into ’24. That hasn’t bothered or changed him.
“In high school, I wasn’t even ranked until midway through my junior year,” Veen said. “At that time, I looked at the Top 10 rankings every day, just to know where I belong. This isn’t a situation I haven't been in before.”
Spring Training stats this year are not as impressive as last spring – 3-for-14 (.214) with a double. But it’s part of developing Veen into a player with game-altering daring on the bases, with power and solid defense.
“I see a very well-rounded everyday big leaguer,” said Chris Denorfia, last year’s Hartford manager and this year’s organization outfield and baserunning coordinator. “We’ve got some work to do. But the talent is there. That part isn’t going away. He still is very projectable to me, and I can't wait to watch.”
If Veen learns the lessons, the Rockies could have one funky virtuoso.
What is Spring Breakout? MLB Spring Breakout is a four-day event showcasing baseball’s future: the current stars of Minor League Baseball. The inaugural edition will be held from March 14-17 at Grapefruit and Cactus league stadiums during Spring Training. A series of 16 exhibition games will be played between teams comprised of each MLB organization’s top prospects, creating a new touchpoint on the baseball calendar that celebrates our sport’s budding talent.
Here's the Rockies' Spring Breakout roster with MLB Pipeline's rankings: