{"id":481758,"date":"2026-02-17T23:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T23:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/481758\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T23:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T23:46:08","slug":"what-the-rockies-can-expect-from-zac-veen-after-ridiculous-physical-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/481758\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Rockies can expect from Zac Veen after ridiculous physical transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 was a mixed year for Colorado Rockies No. 11 ranked prospect (according to MLB.com)<\/a> Zac Veen, with one of the highlights being his highly-anticipated Major League debut on April 8th against the Milwaukee Brewers.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a fan favorite for many reasons, including his fiery competitiveness and the relentless, gritty effort he brings every time he plays.<\/p>\n

Taken 9th overall in the 2020 Draft, Veen has drawn plenty of excitement as a prospect who brings both bat speed and baserunning instincts to the table.<\/p>\n

Veen spent most of the season in Triple-A Albuquerque after a rough MLB debut, hitting just .118 (4-for-34) with a 37.8% strikeout rate over 37 plate appearances.<\/p>\n

Health concerns have continued to plague him early in his career, most recently a wrist injury and a sore ankle that each required stints on the Injured List.<\/p>\n

He hasn’t been able to make a real impact at the big league level.<\/p>\n

Despite the early struggles at the MLB level, Veen looked like a different hitter with the Isotopes. He slashed .289\/.354\/.468 at the Triple-A level, racking up 23 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, and 59 RBI while swiping 15 bases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He struggled to handle MLB-level fastballs up in the zone with the big club, whiffing on 59% of four-seamers while pitchers attacked him with fastballs 70% of the time.<\/p>\n

We recently learned that beyond his injuries, he has also been struggling with substance abuse over the past year or so<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“\u201cThere were times last year where it was out of hand. Coming home in the offseason, I had to look in the mirror and make some adjustments. And I definitely got closer to God, and it made me want to be the best version of myself in every aspect.\u201d”<\/p>\n

Thomas Harding, MLB.com<\/p>\n

Veen showed up to Spring Training looking like a completely different person. It was the kind of transformation that makes you do a double-take and scan the roster wondering which new guy just walked in.<\/p>\n

Veen reportedly closed out the 2025 season weighing 202 pounds, but has since put on approximately 40 pounds, with his current weight now projected around 245 pounds.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for the Rockies?<\/p>\n

The takeaway here is pretty clear. Veen is serious about elevating his game, and with the talent and tools he already has, the ceiling is sky-high.<\/p>\n

He’s already proven he can hit for power, but the added muscle could help him stay healthy and push even more balls over the fence.<\/p>\n

His path to making the Opening Day roster won\u2019t be an easy one.<\/p>\n

Colorado added former Arizona outfielder Jake McCarthy this offseason, giving the Rockies another speedster to roam the vast outfield at Coors Field.<\/p>\n

Colorado could roll out an outfield of Beck, Doyle, and McCarthy from left to right, with Moniak sliding into the designated hitter spot against right-handed pitching.<\/p>\n

Free agent pickup and utility man Willi Castro is another option who could log time in the outfield.<\/p>\n

Veen faces a crowded path to Colorado’s outfield, with fellow prospects Cole Carrigg and Jared Thomas waiting in the wings as well.<\/p>\n

Injuries and trades happen as rosters are never truly set in stone. If Veen comes out swinging this spring, he could put Colorado in a tricky situation when the time comes to set the Opening Day roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2025 was a mixed year for Colorado Rockies No. 11 ranked prospect (according to MLB.com) Zac Veen, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-481758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=481758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/481758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/481759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=481758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=481758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=481758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}