Zac Veen didn’t just have a big night Saturday. He had the kind of line that forces a glance back at the box score to make sure it’s real.
In Triple-A Albuquerque’s 10-1 win over Sugar Land at Isotopes Park, the Rockies’ No. 7 prospect went 5-for-5 as the designated hitter and launched three home runs. He also added a fifth-inning double and finished the show with an eighth-inning triple, piling up 17 total bases in one game.
That total is rare territory. Since 2005, only five other players in Minor League Baseball have reached 17 total bases in a game. The last to do it was former Cardinals prospect Chandler Redmond, who did it on August 10, 2022, when he hit for pro baseball’s second-ever home run cycle and earned a place in MiLB lore.
Veen’s breakout night fits the version of him that has shown up all season in Albuquerque. After a rough first taste of big league action last year, he spent the offseason zeroing in on his health. He got sober, changed his diet and went through a major physical transformation.
The numbers have backed it up. Veen won the Pacific Coast League’s Player of the Month Award in June after hitting .366 with a 1.167 OPS, plus 13 doubles, four triples and seven home runs.
He cooled off some in July, but August has started fast. Veen has already been named PCL Player of the Week this month and has now cleared the 20-homer, 30-double mark, a feat only seven other Isotopes have reached in franchise history. Through seven games in August, he’s hitting .448 with 11 of his 13 hits going for extra bases, good for a 1.707 OPS.
Saturday’s three-homer explosion pushed his season total to 24, which moved him into second place on the PCL leaderboard. At this point, his name is showing up near the top in just about every offensive category that matters.
That’s a strong sign for someone trying to get back to the Mile High City. But those numbers count in Albuquerque, too.
In Other News...
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The late surge matters because the Rockies are not just looking for a hot month, they are trying to judge whether Tovars recent progress is a sign of something more stable. For a club evaluating its future one young player at a time, every strong stretch carries extra weight, and Tovars finish could shape how the organization views his place in that conversation. [Read more 🡒]
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What stands out is how the power has started to show up without taking away the speed that has always been part of his game. For a Rockies club always looking for ways to create pressure on opponents, McCarthy is offering both extra-base damage and baserunning chaos, the kind of combination that can change a game in more than one way before the other dugout even settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Rockies Prospect Jack Mahoney Is Giving This Thin System Some Hope
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That matters even more in a minor league pipeline that has been hit with its share of setbacks lately, from injuries to promotions to surgery. Alessander De La Cruz is dealing with a wrist injury, Brody Brecht underwent shoulder surgery, and those kinds of losses make steady arms like Mahoney stand out all the more. The Rockies still need more than one prospect to push forward, but Mahoneys rise has at least given the organization a little breathing room and a bit of hope. [Read more 🡒]