Veen running wild, leads ST in stolen bases

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Zac Veen stole 55 bases combined at High-A Spokane and Double-A Hartford, and 16 more in 21 Arizona Fall League games last season. Now, he’s proving he isn’t afraid to try it in Major League games.

In Saturday's 7-1 win over the Mariners, Veen swiped three -- all with Cal Raleigh catching. One steal came with 2022 rookie George Kirby pitching, while the others were with J.B. Bukauskas on the mound. Veen, the Rockies' No. 2 prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 27 overall prospect, leads both the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues with seven total steals.

“He’s developing as a player, but Spring Training is a great opportunity for him to test himself against, in a lot of cases, Major League pitchers,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “We have a lot of conversations with Zac about baserunning and playing the game the right way. But we like the fact that he plays with an upbeat energy and a tempo to him.”

In addition, Veen hit an RBI single and scored two runs, bringing his Cactus League batting average to .353 in eight games.

Freeland, Márquez working with the changes
The top two pitchers in the Rockies’ starting rotation, left-hander Kyle Freeland and righty Germán Márquez, found comfort with gadgets on Saturday afternoon.

Freeland pitched three scoreless innings in his second Spring Training appearance, and Márquez marked his first outing with two scoreless frames.

The new pitch timer and the new feature of PitchCom -- a button on the pitcher’s belt which allows two-way communication with the catcher -- are in play for the 2023 season. The pitch timer is no big deal for those who were in the Minors in recent years, but it's an adjustment for pitchers like Freeland and Márquez, who debuted in the Majors in '17 and 16, respectively, and helped the Rockies to the postseason in their first two full seasons.

Actually, anything to quicken the game is no issue for Márquez.

“My tempo is kind of quick,” said Márquez, who struck out two against one walk, plus employed a pitch he wants to add -- an up-and-in, four-seam fastball. “It doesn’t affect me. I didn’t even pay attention to the clock.”

Freeland acknowledged facing a learning curve. He gave up three runs in three innings of his first Cactus League start, and he said it was hard to break from seeing signs and taking time to think. But this time, Freeland and catcher Brian Serven worked smoothly.

“Rhythm is the perfect word -- me and Serven got into what we needed to get into,” said Freeland, who gave up three hits, struck out two and walked one. “We got on the same page and I didn’t have to shake him a bunch. There were a few times where there was a certain pitch I wanted and I used PitchCom on my belt and got it to him quickly.”

Freeland’s next appearances will be with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. The pitch timer and accompanying new rules to quicken the pace of action will not be used then, but he believes the two times to start the spring and any action after the WBC will be plenty enough experience with the rules and technology heading into the regular season.

“Hopefully, it’s just one outing at the end, in between the [WBC] championship game and breaking camp,” he said.

Freeland’s best inning was his third. Command of the changeup improved throughout the start, and his curve and slider felt solid, he said. Márquez said he didn’t think about his left hamstring. A strain in the area delayed his Cactus League debut until Saturday.

Updates

• The loss of Brendan Rodgers to left shoulder surgery opens up second base and the Rockies are experimenting with moving Ryan McMahon from third base. But Alan Trejo, who started at shortstop on Saturday, wants to make sure he isn’t forgotten. Trejo, who will play for Mexico in the WBC, homered off Kirby in the second inning.

• Daniel Bard gave up one hit -- a first-pitch one-out homer to Jake Scheiner -- but was smooth for the rest of his inning. Bard left his first spring appearance with a cut on his left thumb, but proved healthy Saturday.

• Sterlin Thompson, an infielder/outfielder drafted 31st overall last summer and born in Longmont, Colo., had a special moment -- an infield single in his first Cactus League at-bat. Thompson’s family moved to Ocala, Fla., when he was 1, but by age 6 he picked Troy Tulowitzki as his favorite player.

• Black said the signing of lefty reliever Brad Hand was a nice match. Hand is the latest in a line of experienced relievers the Rockies are collecting.

“We had interest in Brad, Brad had interest in the Rockies, so we’re excited to get him,” Black said.