J.C. Romero

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Pacific Coast League #13 prospect in 2000
  Romero wasn’t well known before pitching for the United States at the 1999 Pan American Games, where he beat powerful Cuba during round-robin play. He might have had a chance to win Minnesota’s closer job in spring training this season, but he pulled a back muscle and then developed shoulder tendinitis. When Romero was healthy enough to pitch, the Twins converted him to a starter. Two months later he was in Minnesota, where he got pounded and lost his rotation spot by September. His long-term role remains uncertain, but there’s no doubt he has a quality arm. Romero throws in the low 90s with little effort, and his slurve and changeup are potentially above-average pitches. He’ll need to refine his secondary offerings to avoid getting hit by righthanders, a problem that plagued him in the majors.

• December, 1999 Scouting Report
  Romero wasn’t well known before pitching for the United States at the 1999 Pan American Games, where he beat powerful Cuba during round-robin play. He might have had a chance to win Minnesota’s closer job in spring training this season, but he pulled a back muscle and then developed shoulder tendinitis. When Romero was healthy enough to pitch, the Twins converted him to a starter. Two months later he was in Minnesota, where he got pounded and lost his rotation spot by September. His long-term role remains uncertain, but there’s no doubt he has a quality arm. Romero throws in the low 90s with little effort, and his slurve and changeup are potentially above-average pitches. He’ll need to refine his secondary offerings to avoid getting hit by righthanders, a problem that plagued him in the majors.