Zac Veen. Orange City, Friday, March 15, 2019.
The 2020 Major League Baseball amateur draft has come and gone. The Rockies made a splash selecting outfielder Zac Veen with the No. 9 overall pick. It’s the highest the team has ever selected an outfielder, surpassing David Dahl with the 10th overall pick in 2012.
So what’s the early verdict? Here’s a look at how sports writers around the country view Colorado’s picks:
CBS Sports’ Mike Axisa and R.J. Anderson (A): “The Rockies landed three players on our top 50: outfielder Zac Veen, catcher Drew Romo, and right-hander Chris McMahon. Veen could mature into a middle-of-the-order hitter; Romo a defensive-minded reserve or second-division starter; and McMahon either a three-pitch starter or reliever, depending on what his body permits. Landing Veen and McMahon where they did makes this a fine haul.”
Bleacher Report’s Joe Tansey (A): “Colorado also got decent value with Compensatory Round A selection Drew Romo and third-round pick Sam Weatherly, but Veen and McMahon are the players who could make its draft class one of the best.”
SB Nation’s Tyler Norton on Zac Veen (This dude is made for Coors Field): “The Rockies go with the best-available player with the ninth pick, taking prep outfielder Zac Veen. The 18-year-old grew into his frame recently (6-foot-5, 200 pounds), and he is the prototypical big-league slugger, perfect for today’s game. He’s a launch-angle darling, lofting the ball with great raw power, but he’s prone to swing-and-miss. Best case scenario? He develops into an above-average corner outfielder.”
FantasyPro’s Bobby Sylvester (A): Sylvester doesn’t have an analysis on the Rockies but did write about Padres’ first-round pick Robert Hassell, “The problem here is that they drafted him ahead of Zac Veen, who was widely considered the top high school bat in the country.”
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel lists Zac Veen among his favorite picks: “Veen was the consensus top prep player in the draft and narrowly edged out Robert Hassell for my top prep player. He checks so many boxes as a big, projectable athlete with easy actions, big power projection, now performance and promise for more.”
And Drew Romo among his head-scratchers: “Romo has questions on his bat, and prep catchers are the next-riskiest demographic behind prep righties.”
— Joe Nguyen, The Denver Post
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If you see something that’s cause for question or have a comment, thought or suggestion, email me at jbailey@denverpost.com or tweet me @beetbailey.
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