Zac Veen had an incredible game for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, one that might lead Colorado Rockies fans wanting to see him in the majors before this season ends.
Somebody's going to have to throw a bucket of cold water over Colorado Rockies prospect Zac Veen. Why? He's been hotter than August in New Mexico which, by golly, it is right now.
Veen, a left fielder who plays for the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate Albuquerque Isotopes, went out and put together a night he'll never forget on Saturday night. The Isotopes played the Sugar Land Space Cowboys and, for Veen's sake, he was sending Space Cowboys pitchers' pitches to the moon at times.
He smacked three home runs, a 5-for-5 game, and 17 total bases in a 10-1 victory against Sugar Land, according to a report from MLB.com.
Veen putting together stellar season
Earlier this season, Veen won Pacific Coast League Player of the Month honors back in June. Take a look at what that young player did in June 2026: Slash line of .366/.385/.782, led the PCL in hits (37), doubles (13), triples (four), and led all of Minor League Baseball in total bases with 79.
According to MLB.com, Colorado's No. 7 overall prospect leads all the minor leagues in extra-base hits with 60. He ranks third in total bases with 230 and sits fourth in doubles with 32.
Veen was the No. 1 overall pick by Colorado in the 2020 MLB Draft. He played in 12 games at the major-league level in 2025, but his numbers were not impressive enough. Now though? Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes are seeing him in a different light.
In 100 games and 392 at-bats for the Isotopes, Veen is hitting .327 with a .635 slugging percentage, and an ungodly 1.037 OPS. Veen has 24 home runs, 87 RBIs, 33 doubles, and eight triples.
On top of all that, Veen has 249 total bases to his name. Those 17 total bases against Sugar Land helped up that total some more.
Is Veen positioned for another shot in majors?
Has Veen improved since the 2025 season? Can he hit major-league pitching? Whatever changes Veen made at Albuquerque in the 2026 PCL season, they have catapulted him into getting looked at along with another phenom, Charlie Condon. This leaves another question on the table: When in the world will Colorado call Condon up to the big leagues?
It would not surprise me to see either one or both players getting time in the majors in September. Then, the question becomes how Veen plays in Spring Training in 2027. Does he pass the acid test of an everyday MLB player to Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer, or is he headed to back Albuquerque for more seasoning?
Put Veen in the lineup either right behind or one hitter behind catcher Hunter Goodman, and that can become a power source for the Rockies' lineup. Keep Jake McCarthy in there, too, build around those three players, and aim for a better overall record in 2027.
Up next for Rockies? Diamondbacks
It was not a great series in the Gateway City for the Rockies has they lost two of three games to the St. Louis Cardinals. The tests, though, for this season remain alive as Colorado goes to the Valley of the Sun for a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in downtown Phoenix.
Monday night's opener features Colorado's Gabriel Hughes while Tomoyuki Sugano takes the mound on Tuesday night. In Wednesday afternoon's finale at Chase Field, Ryan Feltner gets the start for the Rockies.
Let's see if Colorado can somehow, some way, win two out of three against the Diamondbacks.
