Zac Veen will wait at least a little bit longer after Rockies option him to AAA

For Zac Veen, the Colorado Rockies’ 2020 first-round pick, his Major League debut no longer seems to be an “if” — but a “when.”

But for the 23-year-old outfield prospect, that “when” will not be Opening Day, even with Nolan Jones now with the Cleveland Guardians following Saturday’s trade.

Despite an outstanding Cactus League performance that resulted in him winning the Abby Greer Award — given annually to the club’s spring-training MVP — the Rockies optioned Veen to AAA Albuquerque on Sunday as they trimmed their major-league camp to 29 players with the regular-season opener at Tampa Bay looming in five days.

Veen looked steady and ready throughout the last month, posting a .298/.375/.509 line with 11 RBI, 7 extra-base hits in 57 at-bats — and to boot, an elite bat-flip game:

Zac Veen demolishes his first Cactus League homer with @Rockies manager Bud Black looking on 👀

107.7 mph | 433 ft pic.twitter.com/7DMnbPpBhi

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 22, 2025

Seven potential outfielders remain officially denoted on the major-league roster: reigning center-field Gold Glove winner Brenton Doyle, Jordan Beck, Sean Bouchard, Kris Bryant, Tyler Freeman, Sam Hilliard and Nick Martini, who had been a non-roster invitee but had his contract selected Sunday.

Martini, who spent the last two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds following a one-year hitch with the NC Dinos in the KBO, started in right field on Saturday and has notched a 1.067 OPS this spring.

Freeman, who was acquired for Jones on Saturday, is officially listed on the roster as an outfielder because most of his work last season with the Guardians was in center field. But his background is as an infielder, and he is likely to share time at second base with Kyle Farmer in the wake of Thairo Estrada’s broken wrist.

By holding back Veen from the major-league roster for 16 days, the Rockies could gain another year of contract control relative to arbitration and free agency for Veen. If he is on the major-league roster for 172 days — or finishes in the top two of NL Rookie of the Year voting — he would be credited with one year of service that would count on the clock toward arbitration and free agency.

Further, there are other young players the Rockies may want to examine in the outfield, particularly Bouchard and Beck. The 28-year old Bouchard has notched a 1.089 OPS in the Cactus League over the last month-plus. Beck had an inconsistent campaign last year and has struggled this spring; he ranks second in MLB in strikeouts during spring training with 22.

The MLB leader in spring-training strikeouts? The afore-mentioned Hilliard, who remains among the Rockies’ outfielders. He’s struck out 25 times in Cactus League play after a solid 2024 campaign in which he finished with an .812 OPS.

BEYOND ZAC VEEN AND NICK MARTINI, THE ROCKIES’ OTHER MOVES INCLUDED:

Re-assigning four players to minor-league camp:

• RHP Diego Castillo
• INF/OF Owen Miller
• C Austin Nola
• INF Aaron Schunk

With Nola sent down, the Rockies’ catching duo is set with Hunter Goodman and Jacob Stallings.

RHP Jake Woodford was also released after exercising an opt-out in his minor-league deal.