Zac Veen’s Big League Promotion Was Overdue

2025 became a year for Veen to prove his worth to the franchise. After totaling just 111 games in the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined, it became time for Veen to take that next step.

Following his brief, abysmal stint with the club, Veen headed back to Triple-A to make some adjustments for when that next call would come. Veen ended up having a really productive campaign with Albuquerque. He hit .289 with an .822 OPS and 11 homers.

The 24-year-old came into 2026 with diminishing expectations. He had fallen as a once highly regarded prospect, with many believing he may just not be the player the Rockies spent a first-round selection on.

In exactly 100 games in Triple-A this season, Veen is hitting .327 with a 1.037 OPS. Veen has finally found his power stroke. In his 436 games played across previous seasons, he hit 51 homers. This season, he’s hit 24.

The Rockies are pleased to see his ability to adjust to the higher levels once again. Veen is posting the best season of his professional career, even dating back to his first season in the organization when he hit .301 with a .900 OPS in Single-A.

Veen has a 141 wRC+ and a .443 wOBA, while slugging a remarkable .635, by far the best mark of his career. The Port Orange native’s breakout couldn’t have come at a better time, and the Rockies desperately need the boost to their lineup.

Zac Veen’s season has been a great revelation for a franchise that hasn’t produced many positives in the past few years.

How Has Veen Put It All Together?

There are a lot of interesting pieces to the massive breakout campaign by Zac Veen. For starters, his strikeout rate has remained roughly the same, while his walk rate improved by two percentage points. However, he’s also chasing more often and swinging and missing more than last season.

Looking under the hood, Veen’s improvement in handling speed helped him produce his monster numbers. His xSLG vs. four-seamers is .465 (.437 last year), .589 vs. sinkers (.381 last year), and .450 vs. cutters (.359 last year). Those substantial improvements against pitches he sees 53% of the time have certainly contributed to his coming-out party.

Part of that power surge can be attributed to Veen’s physical development. The former first-round pick notably added significant strength this offseason and from when he entered professional baseball. That added strength, combined with his ability to maintain his contact skills, has allowed Veen to turn more of his quality into extra-base damage.

Veen has been able to produce more slug and power without a jump in strikeouts. In other words, he’s not selling out for home runs.

Veen still struggles with breaking balls, specifically sliders. In the minors, he’s been able to handle those pitches, making him more complete as a hitter. His xSLG against sliders has jumped from .315 to .365 against the pitch. That’s a considerable jump. He’ll see his fair share of breaking pitches in the bigs, and higher-quality ones, but it’s less of a weakness for pitchers to exploit.

Zac Veen is still likely to suffer from the learning curve that comes with becoming a Major League player. Pitchers will likely throw a lot of breaking balls his way. The key for Veen is to maintain his new and improved approach. The Rockies will need to be patient and allow him to adjust because he’s emerged as a key piece for their future.