Some big lifestyle changes have Rockies prospect Zac Veen tearing it up this spring.
Veen, 24, put on more than 40 pounds, going from around 200 to a strong 245 pounds, but the biggest adjustment came outside of the weight room.
“Definitely one of the bigger, main things was sobering up,” Veen recently told MLB.com. “I had a pretty big substance abuse problem for a few years. But I’m completely clean and sober.
“There were times last year where it was out of hand. Coming home in the offseason, I had to look in the mirror and make some adjustments. And I definitely got closer to God, and it made me want to be the best version of myself in every aspect.”
Veen, the ninth overall pick by Colorado in 2020 and No. 11 prospect in the Rockies’ farm system, per MLB Pipeline, has not lived up to expectations during his five seasons in professional baseball.
After a long slog through the minors, Veen hit just .118/.189/.235 during a brief, 37-plate-appearance MLB debut last season, and he was later sent to the Arizona Complex League.
Looking back, he said, it was all about what was going on off the field.
.A lot of my meals were smoke — and things that shouldn’t have been,” Veen added. “I was smoking weed every day. If I couldn’t find any weed, I was drinking every single day. I’d say ever since I got home in 2021 after my first season, it was a consecutive streak of not being sober. Being able to cut that out of my lifestyle and replace that with protein is very beneficial to the genes God gave me.”
Now, Veen’s hard work and discipline is starting to show.
He is 3-for-11 early on this spring with two home runs, both coming in dramatic fashion.
On Monday, Veen blasted a 113 mph, 468-foot home run to center field to give the Rockies the walk-off win.
He did it again on Friday, crushing a 447-foot bomb for a second walk-off home run in February.
Veen credited his high school coach, Johnny Goodrich, and Rockies development player development director Chris Forbes for getting him back on track.
“It was a collaborative thing – I can’t thank them enough,” Veen said. “I participated in an 11-week program with substance abusers and alcoholics – people wanting to better themselves. I started going to church. I got baptized, went to Bible study every Wednesday.”
Veen is facing an uphill battle if he wants to make the Rockies’ Opening Day roster, but it’ll be hard to keep him off if he keeps hitting the way he is.
