While Veen didn’t seem to miss a beat in the batter’s box, there is more to being a professional baseball player than just hitting (unless you’re Edgar Martinez). The Rockies will need Veen to develop his defensive skills as well to prepare for the outfield that awaits him at Coors Field.
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The defensive side is where Veen could have perhaps learned the most with a rookie season in Grand Junction or Boise. On the defensive side of the game is where Veen will see “a significant amount of his early development,” according to Wilson.
“He’s just so naturally skilled in the batter’s box, and he has some tools defensively too. He is going to have to really learn how to utilize those tools and turn them into skills at the professional level,” Wilson explained. “As a high schooler, he didn’t have to think much about some of the stuff on defense. Playing defense on the professional level is much, much different than roaming around in the outfield in high school and being able to make every type of play look easy. I think a significant amount of his early development is going to be defensively. I think that’s where the biggest growth area is for him.”
But, Wilson was quick to point out that there is room for Veen to grow in the box as well.
“Offensively, certainly, he’s going to have to make adjustments along the way,” Wilson said. “He’s a young player who is going to have to cut his teeth as he goes through the beginning of his professional career, but he has an enormous projectable amount of talent in the batter’s box, which is really easy to see right out of the gate.”