Veen homers twice, plates six runs

July 16th, 2021
Fresno Grizzlies

In the midst of an 8-for-43 slump,  broke out with the best game of his brief Minor League career.

MLB's No. 39 overall prospect established career highs with four hits, two homers and six RBIs to lead Low-A Fresno's offensive onslaught against Stockton Thursday at Harbor Park. Veen scored four times, walked twice and stole his 27th base in the 18-0 victory.

The 19-year-old singled home a run in the third inning and plated another in the next frame with another base knock. Veen clubbed a solo homer in the fifth and ripped a three-run blast in the ninth, giving him half of his hit total for the month in one game. It was the second consecutive contest he had gone deep, giving him three in eight at-bats. Prior to that, the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder had left the yard four times [in] 209 at-bats across the first nine weeks of the season.

Veen entered July on a high note after batting .289 with an .866 OPS the month before. He homered and doubled in the first two games of July before nosediving into a 6-for-35 funk that dropped his average to .249. His career night bumped his slash line back up to .263/.379/.447 with 24 extra-base hits, 43 runs and 39 RBIs in 58 games. His 38 walks are tied for third in the Low-A West.

Colorado selected Veen with the ninth pick in the 2020 Draft out of Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Fla.