Zac Veen continues to surge in Triple-A

Veen is now up to 17 home runs and 65 RBI in 89 Triple-A games to go along with a .313/.389/.580 slash line and 15 steals. He deserves another shot with the Rockies but likely won’t get one unless they trade away some outfielders at the deadline.

Veen is now hitting .322/.400/.588 with 14 home runs, 55 RBI, and 14 steals in 75 games at Triple-A. He’s being a bit more aggressive than he has been in recent seasons, so even though his swinging strike rate remains a similar 11.5 percent, he’s making more contact and more contact in the zone than before. He deserves another shot at MLB at-bats, but with Jake McCarthy, Brenton Doyle, Mickey Moniak, and Cole Carrigg also in the outfield mix in Colorado, the team likely needs to make a move at the trade deadline.

Veen injured his knee while making a sliding catch, but it’s just a bruise and shouldn’t sideline him for long. However, the offseason addition of Jake McCarthy means that there is currently no spot in the Rockies outfield for Veen.

The dynamic 24-year-old outfielder victimized Sean Boyle for the game-winning blast, demolishing a 1-0 changeup for a 447-foot (108.7 mph EV) bomb to center field. Veen finished the afternoon 1-for-2. He’s off to a strong start this spring, hitting .273 (3-for-11) with a pair of homers, three RBI and a 4/1 K/BB ratio in his first six games. If he can work his way into a regular role with the Rockies, he could wind up being an impact addition for fantasy purposes.

Veen showed up to camp looking physically transformed, and the added strength announced itself loudly with this staggering 468-foot missile, per Statcast. The 24-year-old former top prospect flopped in his first shot with the Rockies last season but he would be in line for a significant role if someone like Mickey Moniak, Jordan Beck or Jake McCarthy gets off to an ice-cold start to the year.

The dynamic 24-year-old outfielder admitted that he battled a “pretty big substance abuse problem for a few years” and that he’s now finally “completely clean and sober” after taking time to work on himself and complete an 11-week program for substance abusers. Veen still faces an uphill battle at securing a spot on the Rockies’ Opening Day roster, but if he does ultimately find his way into regular playing time he has all of the tools to be an impact performer for fantasy purposes.

The 23-year-old is now hitting .309 with six home runs, 10 steals, and an .869 OPS in 55 games at Triple-A this season. It remains to be seen if he will get another shot at MLB at-bats once the trade deadline is over.

Veen resumed playing in games Friday, going 2-for-7 with four walks in three Rookie ball appearances. The 23-year-old got off to a fast start at Albuquerque was called up by the Rockies less than two weeks into the season. However, he was sent back down after a 4-for-34 start, and he mostly struggled back in Triple-A, hitting .170/.254/.226 in 14 games in May. If he produces, he’ll likely earn a longer look in the majors in the second half.

Veen is now hitting .361 with two home runs, one steal, and a 1.051 OPS in 61 at-bats at Triple-A this season. At this point, it seems like the Rockies just need to let the 23-year-old figure it out at the MLB level, but it’s the Rockies, so they probably won’t.

Fernandez now has seven home runs on the season to go along with a .254/.322/.592 slash line, 14 RBI and 13 runs scored. He’s also struck out 13 times and walked six in 19 games, which is consistent with his decent strikeout rates throughout his minor league career. Fernandez is just 22 years old, but he also played 33 games at Triple-A last year, so he could push for a big league call-up if he continues to show this kind of power. Both Jordan Beck and Zac Veen didn’t make the most of their first MLB opportunities, and Fernandez is also on the 40-man roster, so perhaps he gets the next shot.