Topes Notes: Historic game propels Zac Veen to second-consecutive PCL weekly honor

Last week’s MLB trade deadline came and went, and outfielder Zac Veen remained on the Albuquerque Isotopes roster.

And, boy, are they happy to still have him.

The seventh-ranked prospect in the organization, according to MLB Pipeline, Veen had a historic Saturday night at Rio Grande Credit Union Field with 17 total bases — yes, SEVENTEEN! — thanks to three home runs, a triple and a double in a win over Sugar Land. On Monday, he was named for the second-consecutive week the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week.

The Hottest Hitting Prospects in Baseball

Zac Veen headlines the list after posting an outstanding 1.648 OPS over the last two weeks, including one of the best performance of the year where he went 5-5 with 3 HR. The Rockies outfielder is close to making his MLB return! https://t.co/s6577gYhEQ pic.twitter.com/s3VnvhZJpT

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) August 10, 2026

The Isotopes won four of the six games in the series last week. Veen led the charge, hitting .478 (11-for-23) with four home runs, a triple, two doubles and 10 RBIs. He led the league for the week in slugging (1.174), OPS (1.730) and tied for the for most total bases (27).

He was the first minor-leaguer to have a 17-total-base game since Chandler Redmond did so on Aug. 10, 2022, for Double-A Springfield (Missouri) and just the fifth since at least 2005 to do it (2005 was the first year with fully verifiable stats at all levels of MILB).

He’s the first Isotopes player to have five extra-base hits in the same game.

Veen’s back-to-back player-of-the-week awards, coupled with his June PCL Player of the Month award, has the 6-foot-3, 240-pound, 24-year-old outfielder in a real conversation for having one of the best offensive seasons in Isotopes history with 36 games remaining on the schedule.

On the season, Veen is hitting .327 with 24 home runs, 87 RBIs, eight triples, 33 doubles, 87 RBIs and he’s also stolen 18 bases and walked 48 times.

Trivia time!

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QUESTION: With 36 games left in the season, Zac Veen (24 home runs, 87 RBIs in 100 games) has a chance to become the fourth Isotopes player to hit 30 home runs and have 100 RBIs in a season.

How many of the other three can you name?

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ANSWER: See below...

Know the foe

The Isotopes hit the road again for six-game Pacific Coast League series against the Oklahoma City Comets, Tuesday through Sunday, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

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Isotopes, Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, 59-55 overall (5th), 20-19 2nd half (t-5th)

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Oklahoma City Comets, Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, 63-49 overall (3rd), 22-16 2nd half (3rd)

First pitch swingin’

It’s a fairly random stat, but while two Topes continue to do it, I’ll continue to update it here. Last week, Isotopes OF Zac Veen hit another first-pitch home run, pulling him and OF/1B Charlie Condon further away from the PCL pack in that stat.

Most first-pitch home runs in PCL

(entering games Tuesday, Aug. 11)

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10 — Condon, Isotopes

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8 — Veen, Isotopes

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5 — two players

Three up, three more up

Some things that have been looking good lately for the ‘Topes, some not so good.

Looking good:

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LHP Mason Green pitched his way out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth inning of Sunday’s Isotopes win. It’s the fourth time this season Green has gotten the team out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam without surrendering a run.

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IF Connor Norby had a heckuva start with the Isotopes last week after being part of a trade between the Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins. Norby went 8-for-20 in five games with the Topes, hitting .400 with a pair of home runs and added five drawn walks to those eight base hits. So good he was, the Rockies called him up on Monday.

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Sunday’s win pushed the Isotopes to 59-55 on the season, already passing their win totals of 2021 (52) and 2024 (58). The last time the Isotopes had 60 wins by the same point of the season was 2013, which was the last time the team finished a season with a winning record.

Look away:

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Sugar Land scored 11 runs in the 10th inning in an 18-10 win over Albuquerque on Friday. It tied the the Isotopes franchise record for most runs allowed in an inning. The team also allowed 11 runs in an inning against Sacramento on July 30, 2023 (fifth inning).

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Despite getting the win, the Isotopes were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in Thursday's game, one day after going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position last Wednesday (a rough 1-for-22 two game stretch at home).

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The Isotopes used nine pitchers in Friday's loss to the Space Cowboys, the most used in a game by the team since a record 10 pitchers took the mound vs. El Paso on June 24, 2017.

Fast food

Tied at the top. Taco at the bottom (still).

2026 Season Standings (56 races):

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18 wins — Red Chile

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18 wins — Salsa Jar

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12 wins — Green Chile

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8 wins — Taco

What are they up to?

Here’s a brief look at some of the road team’s promotions while they host the Isotopes, this week in Oklahoma City.

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Tuesday: $2 beer!

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Friday: Pack the Park Pink. The Comets will wear special pink jerseys as part of the effort to raise awareness for breast cancer research. The jerseys will be auctioned off to support Susan G. Koman Oklahoma.

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Saturday: Throwback game with the Comets wearing throwback jerseys to their days as the Oklahoma City 89ers.

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Sunday: Damon Lane bobblehead giveaway! Who is Damon Lane, you ask? He’s KOCO 5’s chief meteorologist, of course. (Giveaway is weather permitting, naturally).

Trivia answer

List of 30 home run, 100 RBI seasons in Isotopes history:

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Mitch Jones 2009 — 35 HR, 103 RBIs (108 games)

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Sam Hilliard 2019 — 35 HR, 101 RBIs (126 games)

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Roberto Ramos 2019 — 30 HR, 105 RBIs (127 games)

Reach Geoff Grammer at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter (X) @GeoffGrammer.

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →