The Rockies announced Wednesday that they’ve optioned outfielder Zac Veen to Triple-A Albuquerque and assigned lefty Evan Justice outright to Albuquerque after he cleared waivers. Veen’s return to Triple-A clears the way for center fielder Brenton Doyle to be reinstated from the bereavement list.
Veen, 23, was the ninth overall draft pick back in 2020 and for several years ranked among the sport’s top 100 prospects. His stock has dipped in recent seasons as his production wilted a bit in the upper minors. He put together a solid 2024 campaign, however, slashing.258/.346/.459 between Double-A and Triple-A — although he was far more productive at the lower of those two levels. Veen got out to a nice start in Triple-A this year, hitting .387/.472/.677 in 37 plate appearances, earning his first call to the show with that impressive output.
Things didn’t go well for Veen in Denver. He appeared in a dozen games with the Rox and floundered at the plate, hitting just .118/.189/.235 in an identical amount of playing time (37 plate appearances) to his early run in Albuquerque. Big league pitchers punched Veen out 14 times (37.8%), and he chased pitches off the plate at an ugly 36.6% rate. His 58.3% contact rate, as measured by Statcast, is the sixth-lowest in baseball among hitters with at least 30 plate appearances.
Rough as that debut effort was, it came in a small sample and was preceded by a track record of generally solid minor league production. Veen may no longer be viewed as the potential star outfielder he was seen as a couple years ago, but he touts a career .263/.358/.430 batting line in the minors — including a .266/.336/.531 line in 129 Triple-A plate appearances. He also only just turned 23 this past December, meaning he reached the majors at an age when most prospects — certainly the majority of college draftees — are still in the minors. He’ll head back to Triple-A for the time being and continue to refine his approach, and barring some form of major injury, it’s likely he’ll return to the big leagues at some point in 2025.
In the meantime, the Rockies will deploy an outfield with Doyle in center, where he’ll be flanked by a combination of Mickey Moniak, Nick Martini, Jordan Beck and Sean Bouchard. It’s a patchwork collection of corner options, which only further underscores that there ought to be a place for Veen later on if he continues to show well in Albuquerque. Martini is a 34-year-old journeyman. Bouchard is a homegrown product who’s in his fourth partial season. He’s fanned in nearly 31% of his big league plate appearances and will turn 29 next month. Moniak was a low-cost, one-year signing who can work in a fourth outfield role. Beck, like Veen, has been viewed as a top prospect within the Rox system but has yet to piece things together in the majors.
As for the 26-year-old Justice, he’ll stick with the Rockies as a depth option. The 2021 fifth-rounder made his big league debut in 2023 and has pitched 7 2/3 frames for Colorado since. He’s been roughed up for seven earned runs in the majors and has had a tough start in Triple-A as well, surrendering six runs with more walks than strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings. Justice’s 2024 season was shortened by a back injury that required a monthslong absence. He’s had trouble staying on the mound, also missing time with arm troubles in earlier seasons, but Justice has fanned more than 28% of his opponents in pro ball.