Rockies’ Zac Veen hopes big-league call comes sooner rather than later

Zac Veen sat in the Tampa International Airport Tuesday night, waiting for the flight to return him to the minors. Friday night, he’ll suit up for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes for their season-opening game at Sacramento.

It’s not what he hoped.

Meanwhile, the Rockies will open their regular season on Friday afternoon against the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Many thought Veen deserved a spot on the Rockies’ 26-man roster after a strong spring training, including scores of fans. What does Veen think?

The corner outfielder, rated as Colorado’s No. 8 prospect by MLB Pipeline, paused for a long moment and chuckled at the question before answering.

“I guess there is really, kind of, no reaction,” he said in a phone interview. “I guess I kind of figured I was going to stay all through camp and make the team, or I was going to have to go play in Albuquerque for a little bit.”

Veen, 23, the ninth overall pick in the 2020 draft, put up solid numbers this spring. But it wasn’t enough to convince the Rockies’ brass to put him on the roster. The staff wants Veen to become a better situational hitter, shorten up his long swing, make more contact against big-league pitchers and mature as a pro.

Plus, he’s still a bit of a newbie. Injuries limited Veen to 65 games (270 plate appearances) over the last two seasons. In Triple-A late last season, he had just 92 plate appearances.

“He will go to Triple-A to hone his skills,” Black said. “Zac hit .220 in Triple-A, and there are still some things he needs to focus on.

“The strikeout rate was a little high here (29.6%) facing major league pitchers in Arizona. Zac realizes that (there’s) probably a little more time needed in the minors before he potentially gets an opportunity. Hopefully, he’ll force that by how he plays.”

When the Rockies traded presumed starting left fielder Nolan Jones to Cleveland for backup infielder and part-time center fielder Tyler Freeman, Veen appeared to have a chance to make the big-league team. Instead, the Rockies went with 23-year-old Jordan Beck, Sean Bouchard, 28, and veteran Nick Martini, 34, to pair with two-time Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle.

During Cactus League play, and including Tuesday’s exhibition game against the Twins in Fort Myers, Fla., Veen hit .270 (17 for 63) with two home runs, a triple, four doubles and 11 RBIs. He posted an .812 OPS. He pushed the envelope on the basepaths, stealing nine bases. He walked seven times but struck out 21 times.

“I would say I had a very good and exciting camp,” Veen said. “I learned a ton. Being able to be around my teammates was a very big thing for me. And being around the coaching staff was also a very big thing.”

General manager Bill Schmidt saw growth — and room for more growth.

“(Veen) showed a lot of positives in this camp and improved from last year,” Schmidt said. “But as I told Zac, it’s about improving his consistency in a number of areas.”

One of those areas is putting together more competitive at-bat vs. front-line starters. Ten of Veen’s 17 hits this spring came in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings when he was matched against second-tier or minor league pitchers. However, Veen’s first home run of the spring came against the Giants’ Justin Verlander, a future Hall of Famer.

“We talked about all of the things I need to work on, including being able to drive the run in and move runners along,” said Veen, who hit .333 (5 for 15) with runners in scoring position. “It’s definitely a big part of my game that I can improve upon.”

In short, the Rockies don’t think Veen is ready for prime time, which is why they went with Bouchard and Martini to begin the season. But the club did include him on their trip to Florida for their final exhibition game to give him a taste for the big leagues.