Skip to main content

2019 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #7 LHP JoJo Romero

By
JoJo Romero, image- Jay Floyd
With a growing crop of very talented pitching prospects in the Phillies organization, left-hander JoJo Romero is certainly among the standouts.

The five-foot-11 200-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 their title game.

After signing with the Phillies, Romero made his professional debut as a member of 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 terrific 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 and was honored as a South Atlantic League mid-season All-Star.

Romero, who hails from the same hometown as former Phils hurler Justin De Fratus, Oxnard, CA, 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.

Overall for his 2017 campaign, Romero led all Phillies full-season minor leaguers in ERA with a 2.16 mark (minimum 100 innings).

Last year, Romero posted a 7-6 record with a 3.80 ERA, a .241 BAA and an 8.4 K/9 mark through 18 Double-A starts for Reading. He really bounced back following a troublesome start for the Fightins Phils. After an April that saw him Romero go 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA and a .305 BAA, the talented youngster posted a 7-3 record with a 3.01 ERA and a .225 BAA the rest of the way until an oblique injury ended his season in July.

With an electric arm, the 22-year-old features a good mix of offerings including a fastball that sits in the 94-95 MPH range and features sink, a curve ball, a slider and a very good change-up.

Romero tends to draw a lot of ground ball outs. Also, he seems to steadily have a good plan and is confident on the mound, throwing each of his pitches in any count. Opponents have mustered just a .235 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, with a potential ceiling possibly as a mid-rotation guy. Look for him to open the 2019 campaign in Triple-A with Lehigh Valley.

Track this year's complete Phillies top prospects countdown by clicking this link.  
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

By
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...
3 comments
Read more

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

By
The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...
2 comments
Read more

Anthony Gose Q&A

By
A prospect who has been talked about a whole lot lately is outfielder Anthony Gose. Gose, a 2nd round pick of the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft played just 11 games for the Gulf Coast League Phillies last year, before getting hurt. Gose, an 18 year older, stole his minor league leading 36th base on Tuesday night, is batting .253 with 21 RBI and 29 runs scored, in 49 games with the Lakewood BlueClaws. Gose took some time to answer some questions for PhoulBallz.com, and here's how that went down... -I've spoken with the coaching staff and they're impressed with you this year. Tim Gradoville even compared your baserunning to Shane Victorino. Can I get your response to the coaches' positive view of your game and speed? I think it's great. I don't watch too many Phillie games. I'm from LA, I'm a big Dodger fan. So, I've never seen too much of how Victorino steals bases. I know they call him the Flyin' Hawaiian. I know he's fast. -Travis D...
4 comments
Read more