Colorado Rockies: A season review of the top 16 prospects

Major League Baseball has come to an end for MLB teams (aside from the Astros and Braves duking it out for a World Series) and their affiliates. As for the Colorado Rockies, the future stands in the forefront with a farm system that’s begun to trend up after a few years as a bottom-feeding pipeline.

This article will contain a review of the top 15 prospects (16 to accommodate Jaden Hill and his Tommy John recovery) in the system according to my own personal list which features close to 200 prospects in the system.

The top tier resembles sources like MLB, FanGraphs, and Baseball America, but the latter tiers offer a lot of lesser-known names that Rockies fans need to know going into 2022.

Next week, we’ll swing back around and recap the seasons of prospects 17-51 on my list. But, for now, let’s start at the top.

A look at the season from top Colorado Rockies prospect Zac Veen

1. Zac Veen, OF, A: .301/.399/.501, 135 wRC+, 13.4 BB%, 26.3 K%, 15 HR, 36 SB

The Rockies 2020 first-round pick managed to exceed lofty expectations bestowed upon him when he was selected ninth overall as arguably the top high school player in the class. Everyone knew the Florida product came with an elite five-tool ceiling, but I don’t think many expected him to put it all together in his pro debut.

Playing the whole season at the age of 19, Veen started off somewhat cold, hitting just .235 without a home run through his first 38 games (as of June 18). From there, the Low-A West league belonged to the sweet lefty swinger. In his final 69 games, Veen hit .330 with all 15 of his home runs, while cutting down on strikeouts.

The 6-foot-4 outfielder also looked like a natural in the outfield (primarily right field with some left field mixed in) making rangy plays and recording eight assists on the season.

Perhaps most impressively, Veen did this against players, on average, two years older than him.

To make a somewhat bold yet realistic claim, Zac Veen looks like the best prospect the Rockies have had since Troy Tulowitzki. A perennial 30-30 player with quality corner outfield defense and a high OBP looks like Veen’s ceiling … and a somewhat likely one at that.

The Spokane Indians will be the beneficiaries of the Zac Veen experience in 2022, but it’s not unreasonable to think he could reach AA before turning 21, a feat few players accomplish.

Veen’s prospect stock is strapped to a rocket right now and he should be viewed as a top 30 prospect in all of baseball, if not even higher.