Jose Romero – Pic by Rich Biesterfeld
Remember the old adage about a tree falling in the forest and whether it makes a sound if no one is there to hear it? Sometimes, the same is true for breakout performances. Did it really happen if no one was there to report it? Sometimes, prospects can sneak up on you if someone doesn’t point them out. This year, there was such a performance by Jose Romero of Myrtle Beach.
Romero is a 22-year-old right-handed relief pitcher who threw all season for Myrtle Beach. For the year, he had a 2.77 ERA and struck out 68 in 48.2 innings. In addition, opponents only hit .193 against him and that’s only the beginning of the story.
For the first four months of the year, Romero’s year was not spectacular. He had an ERA of close to four. Considering that the Carolina League is known as a pitcher’s league, it was a nondescript season until he got to the second half.
Something clicked for the 22-year-old. In August and September, he threw 19 innings with an ERA just above one. In those 19 innings, he struck out 28 batters and all of a sudden he became a war horse out of the pen for Buddy Bailey.
When the Arizona Fall League rosters came out, Romero was a huge surprise pick and he didn’t disappoint in Mesa either. In 10.2 innings, he had a 1.69 ERA with 8 strikeouts. Hitters seemed to struggle against him with a .091 batting average against.
I spoke to Pelicans broadcaster Sam Weiderhaft about Romero and here is what he explained about Romero’s second half ascendance.
“With Romero, I think it was just a matter of him getting more comfortable on the mound. The stuff on his slider was great, and that paired with his power fastball that hitters couldn’t catch up to as the season went on. He got better at knowing when to throw what pitch. I believe he also trimmed some weight from last year to this year and was able to use his body more effectively.“
Looking at 2024, things are kind of wide-open for Romero. More than likely, he will begin the year with South Bend and his performance will dictate just exactly where he goes from there. When the season starts, he will be 22 until the end of April when he turns 23, but this will only be his third full season of baseball. Like many of the Cubs’ Latin American pitchers, he signed at a later age.
I’m excited to see him takeoff against elite competition at High-A and then at Tennessee where we will truly see what he can do. Then again, he’s basically already pitched a small sample size against Double-A hitters in the AFL. Good things are coming quickly!
