Zac Veen, Rockies’ top prospect, has season-ending wrist surgery

Outfielder Zac Veen, the Rockies’ No. 1 prospect, has been lost for the season after undergoing surgery to repair a tendon in his left wrist. He was playing for the Double-A Hartford Yard Goats.

Chris Forbes, Colorado’s player development director, confirmed that Veen had the surgery Thursday in New York. The procedure was performed by noted surgeon Dr. Michelle Carlson. MLB.com first reported the news.

Veen, ranked as the Rockies’ top prospect and No. 29 overall by MLB Pipeline, was having a difficult season at Hartford as he struggled with his wrist injury, which Forbes said had been bothering Veen on and off for quite some time.

“His appointment in New York determined that surgery was the best option,” Forbes said Friday.

Veen, 21, hit .209 with just two home runs and 24 RBIs in 46 games (201 plate appearances) for the Yard Goats. Veen’s agent, Jason Romano, told MLB.com that the surgery was to the extensor capri ulnaris (ECU) tendon in the left wrist. That’s the top hand in Veen’s left-handed-hitting swing.

The ECU is one of the major wrist tendons and is located on the ulnar side of the wrist, which is the same side as the small finger. The ECU tendon starts on the back of the forearm and crosses the wrist joint directly on the side.

“He just lost all kind of ability to stay through the ball, because the top hand just gives out and gets weak,” Romano said, adding that Veen has been dealing with the injury since just before the 2022 All-Star break. Veen hurt his wrist while
diving for a ball in the outfield playing with Class-A Spokane.

The Rockies were hoping that Veen would make his big-league debut this season, especially after a strong spring training. In 20 Cactus League games, he slashed .271/.314/.375 with one home run, two doubles and eight stolen bases.

Last year, Veen played in the Arizona Fall League and batted .333 with six doubles but hit just one homer. But he was named the AFL’s offensive player of the year.

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