Seth Romero | LHP
Background
Romero, 21, was not drafted out of a Texas high school a few years back and wound up at Houston. Working mostly as a starter with the Cougars, he had a 2.43 ERA with 290 strikeouts and 70 walks in 226 innings in college. Romero was kicked off Houston’s baseball team last month, reportedly because he got into a fight with a teammate and took a photo holding a bong in full uniform. He was suspended two other times during his college career for conduct detrimental to the team.
Scouting Report
At 6-foot-4 and 240 lbs., Romero has a thick frame and he generates easy mid-90s velocity with his fastball. He sits 93-95 mph and has run it up as high as 97 mph. Romero’s out pitch is a nasty mid-80s slider, and his changeup has improved to the point where it is now a reliable third pitch he can use to neutralize righties. There’s a little bit of effort in Romero’s delivery, though he’s a good athlete and he repeats it well, and he usually has no trouble throwing his fastball for strikes. The stuff is legit. The makeup is questionable.
Miscellany
Romero came into the spring as a likely top ten pick, though the ongoing off-the-field issues have pushed him down draft boards. In their latest rankings, both MLB.com (24th) and Baseball America (27th) ranked Romero as a back-half of the first round prospect, while Keith Law (subs. req’d) dinged him hard and ranked him 59th. The Yankees pick 16th. A college kid smoking pot is no big deal. Fighting with teammates though? That’s bad. The Yankees really value makeup and my guess is they would pass on Romero, even if his talent says he’d be a coup with that 16th overall pick.
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