Zac Veen found the power without paying for it

The swing scouts wrote poems about in 2020 has finally shown up in a box score, and it arrived without the wreckage that usually accompanies it.

Zac Veen (PuRP No. 9), in his second full season at Triple-A Albuquerque, is doing damage at a rate he has never approached as a professional. He is slugging .562, up from .468 at the same level a year ago. His isolated power (ISO) has climbed from .179 to .256. He has 49 extra-base hits in 88 games — 27 doubles, six triples, and 16 home runs — after producing

just 39 in 90 games in 2025.

Gains that size come with a bill, and it is usually paid in the strikeout column. Veen has struck out in 21.0 percent of his plate appearances this season, against 20.4 percent in 2025. He is missing at the same frequency he did a year ago and doing considerably more with the pitches he catches.

The bill that never came

That distinction matters for a player with Veen’s history. Colorado drafted him ninth overall in 2020 out of Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Florida, on the strength of a left-handed swing that scouts believed would eventually produce power. It mostly didn’t, and the reasons were a mix of injury and approach: season-ending left-wrist surgery in 2023, a thumb injury that limited him to 65 games in 2024, and stretches where the pursuit of that projected power produced elevated strikeout totals instead. He struck out in 26.3 percent of his plate appearances at Low-A in 2021 and 24.4 percent across two levels in 2022.

A bigger player, not a different hitter

Part of the answer is that he is simply a bigger player than he was a year ago — and that he wasn’t trying to be a different hitter. Asked during spring training whether the added muscle explained his newfound power, Veen said he considered himself a hitter first, focused on driving line drives. He described an offseason getting back to the basics, hitting the ball up the middle, and said that as he got bigger and stronger, the ball simply started jumping more. He was explicit that he did not see himself as a power hitter. Four months of Triple-A slugging suggest that was right about the process and wrong about the label.

The straightforward reading of the rest is that he stopped chasing the power and it arrived anyway. The evidence supports it.

He is not selling out for loft — the strikeout rate would show it — and he is not living on home runs, either. The 27 doubles already match a career high at any level, and the six triples are tied for the most among Isotopes hitters. This is a hitter driving the ball to the gaps at a rate he has never previously sustained.

The walks disappeared June 1

The complication is the calendar, and it deserves more than a footnote.

Veen hit .358/.500/.617 in May, drawing 23 walks in 106 plate appearances. That is the best month of plate discipline in his professional career, and it ended abruptly. Since June 1, he has walked seven times in 173 plate appearances — a rate of 4.0 percent, against a strikeout rate of 20.7 percent. The hitter who controlled the zone in May stopped showing up in June and has not returned.

What’s notable is how long that cost him nothing. In June, he hit .366 and slugged .782 with 13 doubles, four triples, and seven home runs — good enough to take home Pacific Coast League Player of the Month, all while barely taking a pitch.

Across the full stretch since June 1, he is still hitting .307/.335/.639, with 32 of his 51 hits going for extra bases. A collapsed walk rate and a .650 slugging percentage are not generally supposed to coexist for two months.

They stopped coexisting in July. Veen is hitting .215/.261/.415 this month with 16 strikeouts and just four walks in 69 plate appearances. The approach had been deteriorating since the start of June: what changed this month is that the contact quality finally followed it down. The only thing that hasn’t moved is his strikeout rate.

Whatever Veen lost in June and July, it wasn’t his bat-to-ball. He is putting the ball in play as often as he did when he was slugging .782; he is simply swinging at more of the wrong pitches and getting less out of them.

The case for a second look

Which leaves the Rockies with a genuine question rather than an obvious answer.

Veen is on the 40-man roster and holds 0.015 years of service time from a 12-game debut in 2025 that produced four hits and 14 strikeouts in 37 plate appearances. He turns 25 in December. The full-season profile — more power, same contact, a career-best .944 OPS — is the strongest argument he has ever made for a second look.

The last four weeks are the argument against, and they’re the ones happening now.

Weekly Pebble Report: July 21st- July 27th

Triple-A: Albuquerque Isotopes (2-4, 49-53 Overall)

Albuquerque opened its six-game home set against the Round Rock Express (Texas Rangers) with a pair of wins, then watched the rotation come apart. The Isotopes dropped the final four, including both ends of Saturday’s doubleheader, and were outscored 38-9 over that stretch as three different starters allowed at least three earned runs. The back of the bullpen was largely untouched — John Brebbia and Nick Frasso combined for scoreless work across the series — but the early deficits proved too deep.

⬆️ Stock Up: Stevens stays scalding

Chas Stevens was one of the few Isotopes who never cooled off, collecting eight hits in 18 at-bats (.444) with a triple, a stolen base, and three multi-hit games in five appearances. He scored four times and reached base in four of the five games he played, keeping his season average at .332. On a club that managed nine runs across the final four games, Stevens kept putting himself in position to score. The Isotopes are losing ground quickly, now sitting in fourth place and nine games back of the PCL East second-half lead.

⬇️ Stock Down: Amador’s bat goes missing

Adael Amador managed just two hits in 15 at-bats over five games, a .133 stretch that dropped his season average to .259. Both hits went for doubles, so the contact he did make had authority, but they were isolated moments in a series where he otherwise struggled to reach — he drew three walks and drove in a single run. For a player trying to make his case for another look at the big-league level, it was a step in the wrong direction.

Upcoming

The Isotopes head to El Paso for a six-game series against the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres).

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats (3-3, 50-45 Overall)

Hartford spent a week in Richmond trading games with the best team in the Eastern League and never strung two together in either direction — the Yard Goats alternated wins and losses across all six, finishing 3-3 against a Flying Squirrels club (San Francisco Giants) that closed the week at 57-37. Mike Antico’s three-run homer and five RBIs carried the doubleheader opener; Jack Mahoney followed with six innings of one-run ball in a 3-1 win, and Stu Flesland III took the third victory with 6.2 innings on Saturday. The losses were competitive outside of a 7-0 shutout, in which Hartford managed five hits. Andy Perez was the most complete bat of the trip, homering twice, stealing two bases, and driving in four while playing all six games. Hartford sits at 11-16 in the second half, but has already clinched a postseason spot after winning the first half division title.

⬆️ Stock Up: Prosecky shuts the Squirrels down twice

Michael Prosecky (PuRP No. 25) took the ball first in two of six games and didn’t allow a run in either. He worked 4.2 innings across the pair, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out seven — including five in a 2.2-inning turn in Sunday’s finale. Both outings were short by design, but the results were identical: no damage against a lineup that scored 26 runs in the series. His season ERA dropped to 4.08.

⬇️ Stock Down: Kokoska can’t find a hit

Zach Kokoska went 0-for-13 across four appearances, striking out four times and failing to find barrels. He drew a pair of walks, but the hitless stretch pulled his average down to .258.

Upcoming

The Goats return home for six games against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays)

High-A: Spokane Indians (2-4, 46-50 Overall)

Spokane won the opener against the Tri-City Dust Devils (Los Angeles Angels), then lost four in a row before salvaging the finale with a 12-run outburst. Two of the losses turned on a single frame: a two-out grand slam off Tyler Hampu in the fifth on Thursday, and a seven-run seventh on Friday in which Justin Loer was charged with all seven (five earned) while recording one out. Tanner Thach homered three times and drove in eight despite hitting .174 for the week, and Bryson Hammer was excellent across two appearances, striking out 13 over nine innings with one earned run. The Indians remain tied for first place in the Northwest League second-half standings.

⬆️ Stock Up: Tommy torches Tri-City

Tommy Hopfe put together another strong week for the Indians. He collected 13 hits in 24 at-bats (.542) with a home run, two doubles, and eight RBIs across five games, opening with a 3-for-5 night and closing with a three-hit, three-RBI performance in the finale. He owns a .973 OPS since June 1 and is making a real case for a promotion.

⬇️ Stock Down: Loer Can’t Find the Zone

Justin Loer’s second half has gone sideways in a hurry. He was charged with five earned runs while recording just one out in Friday’s seventh inning, walking three and surrendering a home run in an outing that turned a 3-1 game into a route. It was a near-copy of his previous appearance against Everett, when he allowed four runs and walked four while again only getting one out. Across those two outings, he has faced 15 batters, retired only two of them, and watched his ERA continue to climb.

Upcoming

Spokane heads north of the border to face the Vancouver Canadians (Toronto Blue Jays) in a six-game set.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies (5-1, 54-42 Overall)

Fresno dropped the opener to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (Los Angeles Angels) and then didn’t lose again, reeling off five consecutive wins to close the home stand. Two of them came in the last at-bat — a three-run ninth to steal the second game and a 10-inning walk-off on Saturday— the Grizzlies bookended the stretch with blowouts, scoring 17 runs on Thursday and 19 on Sunday. Carlos Renzullo hit .423 over all six games, Kyle Fossum added a grand slam in the finale, and the bullpen quietly did its part: Luke Hansel, Yanzel Correa, Dylan Crooks, and Seth Clausen combined for 7.2 scoreless innings. Fresno is now in a three-way tie for first in the California League North.

⬆️ Stock Up: Wilder goes wild

Wilder Dalis (PuRP No. 24) was the best hitter in the entire California League this week. The shortstop went 12-for-23 (.522) with four home runs, three doubles, four stolen bases, and 12 RBIs, playing all six games and homering in three straight to open the series before adding a fourth in Sunday’s rout. His 4-for-5, four-RBI finale capped a stretch that pushed his season average to .300 with 11 homers and 51 RBIs.

⬇️ Stock Down: Vidourek can’t buy a base hit

It’s never fun to put a new addition in the stock down section, but Vidourek made a pretty good case this week. He managed just one hit in 17 at-bats across five games, striking out nine times, including four in an 0-for-6 finale. To his credit, he kept working counts — seven walks in the series meant he still reached regularly — but the contact never came, and his season average slipped to .161.

Upcoming

The Grizzlies hit the road to face the Ontario Water Buzzers (Los Angeles Dodgers) for a six-game series in Ontario.

ACL: ACL Rockies (3-1 in final regular-season week, 40-19 overall; 2-1 in the postseason)

The complex-league Rockies closed the regular season the way they spent all of it — on top. They took three of four in the final week, including a 10-2 win over the Guardians and a combined four-hit shutout of the Athletics, to finish 40-19 and win the ACL East. Then came the postseason: a 13-9 win over the ACL Angels in the one-game semi-final, followed by a 9-8 survival test against the ACL Reds in Game 1 of the ACL World Series. That one nearly slipped away after a ninth-inning grand slam made it a one-run contest. The Rockies fell 6-4 in 11 innings on Monday, setting up a winner-takes-all game three Tuesday night.

⬆️ Stock Up: Arguelles doesn’t cool off

Cristian Arguelles finished the regular season hitting .455 (5-for-11) over three games with a home run, a double, and three stolen bases, finishing at .402 for the year. Then he raised it: 5-for-8 with four RBI across the semi-final and the World Series Opener. Ten hits in 19 at-bats over the week in games of increasing consequence — Arguelles has been the most reliable bat in the ACL this season and hasn’t blinked in the postseason.

⬆️ Stock Up: Wilmes turns it on in the playoffs

Ben Wilmes finished the regular season at .405 after being signed by the organization on June 11, and found another gear once the games started counting double. He went 5-for-8 across the semi-final and the World Series opener with four RBIs, driving in three in the 13-9 win over the Angels and adding a double, a steal, and another run driven in against the Reds. Throughout the full week, he collected 10 hits in 21 at-bats and scored nine runs.

DSL: DSL Colorado (4-1) & DSL Rockies (2-3)

The two Dominican Summer League affiliates went in opposite directions again. DSL Colorado won four of five, opening with an 11-run third inning against the Mets Blue and closing with a 12-3 rout of the Rangers Blue, to move to 27-12 and hold first place in the DSL Southeast. Larry Suero homered twice and drove in five, Jendry Guaraco added a grand slam among his six RBIs, and Williams Ferrufino tripled twice while stealing four bases. DSL Rockies took two of five and sit at 18-20, fifth in the DSL East, though not for lack of drama — trailing 7-0 through seven innings on Saturday, they scored six in the eighth and six in the ninth to win 12-9. Carlos Mota drove in a team-high eight runs for the week, and Victor Castellano earned both Rockies victories.

⬆️ Stock Up: De Paula Keeps the Line Moving

Rosniell De Paula was on base constantly for DSL Colorado, going 7-for-19 (.368) with a triple, a double, and four RBI across all five games. What stands out is what happened after he reached: he scored nine runs, tied for the most on the club, and touched home in every game. He’s up to a .350 batting average on the year.

⬇️ Stock Down: Cancro Goes Cold

Danny Cancro managed two hits in 13 at-bats. The .154 stretch came with no RBIs and four strikeouts over four games. He remains one of the more productive bats in the Rockies’ order, which is what makes this quiet stretch worth watching rather than worrying about.