3 homers, 5-for-5, 17 total bases! Rockies prospect enjoys historic night
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Zac Veen may have abandoned his platinum hairdo during the offseason, but he didn’t lose his flair for the dramatic.
During Triple-A Albuquerque’s 10-1 win over Sugar Land on Saturday at Isotopes Park, Veen fulfilled his purpose as the designated hitter and then some, going 5-for-5 with three homers. Beyond his contributions to the Isotopes, he etched his name into the MiLB history books with a stat line you won’t see often.
In addition to his three home runs, the Rockies’ No. 7 prospect crushed a fifth-inning double before putting a bow on his performance with an eighth-inning triple.
For those keeping count, that’s a remarkable 17 total bases, a figure that has only been reached five other times in Minor League Baseball since 2005. The last player to do so was former Cardinals prospect Chandler Redmond, who also knew a thing or two about delivering some dramatics. On August 10, 2022, he hit for pro baseball’s second-ever home run cycle, earning himself a place in MiLB lore and his bat a place in Cooperstown.
While Saturday’s performance was singular, it wasn’t too far from the norm for this version of Veen. After struggling in his first taste of big league ball last year, he spent the offseason focusing on his health. He made some major lifestyle changes, getting sober and changing his diet, which resulted in a significant physical transformation.
The results have been undeniable. While the Pacific Coast League is known to be hitter-friendly, Veen’s numbers have stood out. He took home the league’s Player of the Month Award in June after batting .366 with an eye-popping 1.167 OPS with 13 doubles, four triples and seven home runs.
After a relatively tepid July, the 24-year-old outfielder is on a tear to open August. This month, he has already been named PCL Player of the Week while surpassing the 20-homer, 30-double threshold, something only seven other Isotopes have done in franchise history. He's hitting .448 with 11 of his 13 hits having gone for extra bases, leading to a 1.707 OPS across seven contests.
His three-homer game brought his season total to 24, catapulting him into second place on the PCL leaderboard. At this point, you’d be hard pressed to find an offensive category where his name isn’t prominently featured. That’s a pretty good sign for someone looking to get back to the Mile High City. But those stats play in Albuquerque, too.
“It’s impossible not to think about [a callup] -- everybody does,” Veen said earlier this season. “But at this point, I’m just really enjoying what I’m doing every day.”