Veen broke down the big-league door on Saturday night with a 5-for-5 performance that included a home run, two doubles and four RBIs in Albuquerque’s 14-3 home victory over Salt Lake. In seven Triple-A games, he hit .387 (12 for 31) with a 1.149 OPS that included one homer, four doubles, a triple and one stolen base.

When Nolan Arenado was traded from the Colorado Rockies following the 2020 season, Zac Veen had yet to play a game as a professional. Selected ninth overall in the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLB Draft, the Port Orange native represented a changing of the guard for an organization that had just jettisoned their franchise player.

When Zac Veen was 12 years old, he would ride his bike for 5 miles to Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Florida, so he could practice with the varsity baseball team. Spruce Creek coach Johnny Goodrich welcomed Veen,