When the Colorado Rockies sent Zac Veen to Triple-A to begin the 2025 season, there was quite a bit of consternation around these parts.

For many, it was proof that the ballclub isn’t really embracing a youth movement. It was a sign that Bill Schmidt and Bud Black were going to fall back on aging veterans and not give the kids a chance.

But, nine games into the season, the Rockies have called up both Veen and their top pitching prospect Chase Dollander, who made his MLB debut on Sunday.

We should be clear that, to some degree, circumstances necessitated both moves. In the case of Dollander, it was an injury to Austin Gomber that has taken a bit more time off his season than was originally hoped for. For Veen, it was three primary factors: Jordan Beck’s struggles, the cold Rockies offense, and Veen’s tremendous sprint out of the gate.

Beck had more than earned his shot but clearly isn’t right at the plate right now and was even playing poor defense which is unusual for him. This move gives him a chance to go back to Triple-A, get himself right, and get his confidence back, in a place where the lights aren’t quite so bright.

Meanwhile, the Rockies are in desperate need of someone to light a fire. Until a 12-run outburst in the finale against the A’s, they were stuck almost exclusively on scoring one or two runs a game and only Hunter Goodman began the year with consistent power.

So yeah call the guy putting up a 199 wRC+ in Albuquerque and see what he can do.

We are still in small-sample-size territory with all of the stats so the nice thing about all of this movement is that it can continue to remain fluid. In an ideal world for the Rox, Dollander and Veen are never sent back to the minors again, both continuing their rise and maybe even garner some Rookie of the Year talk.

Of course, progress is rarely that linear and all kinds of things can happen. The book is nowhere near closed on Beck who can play his way back onto the roster just as quickly as he played himself off.

There are more pitchers behind Dollander who don’t have the same amount of hype attached to them but nonetheless represent a pretty massive opportunity for more change. Gabrielle Hughes is off to a nice start and Carson Palmquist carries an ever-intriguing package of pitches. Sean Sullivan begins the year injured and so we pause a bit on him but all three have a decent chance of joining Dollander in making their MLB debuts this season.

There’s also a slew of position players chomping at the bit, with second baseman Adael Amador leading the charge for call-ups on that side.

The best news for all of these players is that the usually-stoic Colorado Rockies have been so proactive so early in the 2025 season. Dollander and Veen earned their spots and will get every opportunity to keep earning them. 

By my calculations, this team has between seven and 12 prospects who could or arguably should debut this season. We’ve only just begun.

In the meantime, the Rockies can avail themselves of far more options than they’ve had in the past few years. They’ve even already shown a willingness to sit high-dollar man Kris Bryant in order to get more playing time for guys like Beck and Micky Moniak.

Do they end up making smart use of veterans Nick Martini and Kyle Farmer to trade them for more young pitching talent once the prospects behind them prove to be ready? They have to keep playing well, but that’s another option.

Perhaps the most intriguing option on the table is a total transformation of the bullpen as new starters arrive. Gomber and Antonio Senzatela in particular have profiles that would fit nicely into a bullpen role. If German Marquez can’t fully recapture the magic for full outings but can muster it in moments, he too makes sense in the ‘pen.

Or (again depending on performance) you can shop any of those guys at the deadline. Options.

Most fans, and plenty of media, aren’t likely to care much about these small changes in philosophy until they lead to a few more games ending up in the win column. And fair enough. 

For now, all we can do is watch the first few steps and see what happens next.