Rockies send down top prospect, raising questions about player development

The Colorado Rockies’ decision to option Zac Veen back to Triple-A Albuquerque might look like a routine move in the box scores and transaction wires. But beneath the surface, it exposes a deeper issue that’s held this franchise back for years—a lack of organizational commitment to developing young, high-upside talent through adversity.

Veen, the ninth overall pick in the 2020 draft, was supposed to be one of the crown jewels of Colorado’s rebuild. He dominated Double-A pitching last year and was electric in his brief Triple-A stint this spring, earning a well-deserved call-up. But after just 12 games in the majors—where he struggled mightily at the plate, batting .118 with 14 strikeouts in 37 plate appearances—the Rockies sent him down, citing the need for “refinement.”

On paper, it’s easy to justify. Veen was overmatched, chasing breaking balls out of the zone and getting beat by major-league velocity. His 58.3 percent contact rate ranked among the worst in baseball, and the Rockies have a whole outfield with Brenton Doyle, Mickey Moniak and Nick Martini all needing playing time. But this isn’t just about one player’s slow start. It’s about an organization that too often pulls the plug before prospects can adjust and grow.

Colorado has a habit of quick hooks and short leashes, unlike the perennial contenders who allow their top talents to fail, learn and ultimately adapt at the highest level. It’s a pattern: a prospect impresses in the minors, hits a wall in the majors and is promptly shipped out. Then, when the opportunity arises again, the same cycle repeats.

What does that do to a young player’s confidence or growth? After all, the Rockies’ outfield isn’t overflowing with proven long-term solutions. The team is piecing together an outfield with journeymen, platoon bats and homegrown players who have never been given uninterrupted runway to prove themselves. With their current direction, they risk burning through another top prospect—one who, if given time, could help form the foundation of a new core.

Veen’s demotion says as much about the Rockies as it does about him. It reflects a franchise still obsessed with immediate results over long-term development. If Colorado wants to break the cycle of mediocrity, it has to start trusting its young players—especially those, like Veen, with the ceiling to become difference-makers.

It’s time for the Rockies to embrace a process that lets prospects fail and learn at the major league level. Only then will players like Veen be able to fulfill their potential—not as flashes in Albuquerque, but as fixtures in Denver. The story will stay the same until the organization changes its approach.

If the Rockies are serious about building a sustainable future, they must give players like Veen a real chance—not just a cup of coffee.