2018 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #14 LHP JoJo Romero

JoJo Romero, image- MiLB.com

With a growing crop of very talented pitching prospects, left-hander JoJo Romero is among the standouts for the Phillies.

The six-foot tall 190-pounder was the Phils’ 4th round draft selection in 2016. That year he helped Yavapai College, the same school that the Phillies drafted Kenny Giles from in 2011, clinch the JuCo World Series, leading the way with an 11-5 record, a 3.64 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 mark. He also tossed a complete game gem to earn the win in the title game.

After signing with the Phillies, Romero joined the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. There he notched a 2-2 record with a 2.56 ERA while striking out 31 and walking 11 in 45 2/3 innings.

In 2017, he got off to a remarkable start with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. In 13 starts, Romero tallied a 5-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and a 9.3 K/9 mark.

The California native was promoted to Class A Advanced Clearwater in late June. In 10 starts for the Threshers, Romero posted a 5-2 record with a 2.24 ERA and an 8.4 K/9 mark.

With an electric arm, the 21-year-old features a good mix of offerings including a fastball that sits in the 94-95 MPH range, a curve ball, a slider and a change-up. He struggled with the command of his fastball in the early going last year, but that was attributed to the considerable movement of the pitch. Stabilizing his back foot and working with coaches proved to be the remedy for that concern and command was not a lasting issue.

Romero tends to draw a lot of ground ball outs. Also, he seems to regularly have a good plan and is confident on the mound, throwing each of his pitches in any count. Opponents have mustered just a .232 batting average against while facing Romero thus far in his pro career.

A ball of energy in the locker room, Romero is a guy that teammates enjoy being around and can help the club by being a motivator of those around him, even when he’s not in the game.

The Phillies plan to have Romero stick as a starter, but he could possibly move to a relief role at some point, depending on what opportunities and/or openings lie ahead.

Look for Romero to have a go in the Eastern League this year with Double-A Reading. A potential estimated time of arrival in the big leagues would be more than a season away.

You can keep track of this year's Phillies prospect countdown at this link.

Comments

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

PhoulBallz Interview: Off-season check in with 1B Kyle Martin

Kyle Martin, image- Jay Floyd First base prospect Kyle Martin grew up in South Carolina as a Phillies fan, admiring slugger Jim Thome , so it was a dream come true for his entire family when the organization made him their 4th round draft choice this year. A lefty batting power threat, Martin quickly made his professional debut with Class A Lakewood. The transition to the minors seemed easy, as the 23-year-old tallied a .279 average with five home runs and 37 RBI in 65 games for the BlueClaws. I recently spoke with the University of South Carolina product about his remarkable 2015 as a whole and he ranked how playing in the Phillies organization ranks against playing for Team USA in this year's Premiere 12 tournament. Read ahead for that interview and click here for my previous feature on the six-foot-two 240-pounder. -Are you still enjoying downtime right now or have you reached the stage of your off-season where you are back to baseball activities and knocking the ru...

Michael Taylor Q&A

Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog