Sergio Romo

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked San Francisco Giants #10 prospect in 2009
  Romo began 2008 as an occasional name on the travel squad for spring training games and ended it as the most dependable set-up man in San Francisco's bullpen. While he isn't particularly imposing or athletic, there's no downplaying the way he made major league hitters look foolish--including Manny Ramirez, whom he struck out on three pitches. The Giants issued the second-most walks in the National League last year, so Romo's aggressive, strike-throwing approach was a refreshing change. His breaking ball is essentially two different pitches when he changes his arm angle, one of which is a front-door slider that snaps back across the plate against righthanders. He wants the ball and isn't intimidated. He's durable and handled multipleinning appearances without complaint. Romo's fastball is fringe-average and only touches 90 mph, so he can't get away with mistakes up in the strike zone. Aware that the book will be thicker on him next season, he worked on a changeup while pitching for Mexicali this winter. Romo has had nothing handed to him, yet he has managed to miss bats at every level. He'll hold down a key role in the Giants bullpen in front of closer Brian Wilson.
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  Ranked San Francisco Giants #28 prospect in 2008
  Romo spent two years at Arizona Western JC, then went 24-4 in two NCAA Division II seasons, one at North Alabama and one at Mesa State. He has put up eye-popping numbers as a pro as well, and after starting part-time in 2006, he moved full-time to the bullpen last season and showed excellent control and a durable arm. Romo led all full-season relievers by striking out 14.4 batters per nine innings despite a lack of true power stuff. Instead, he relies on a tremendous feel for pitching, using different angles and a five-pitch arsenal to baffle batters. His fastball has reached 93 mph and sits at 88-90 mph regardless of his arm slot, and he spots it with confidence and plenty of guts. He'll show hitters both a curveball and slider, and mix speeds with a changeup and splitter. Romo kept boosting his profile with another fearless performance in the Arizona Fall League, where he allowed just one run in 14 innings. His feel for changing speeds and ability to throw strikes with any pitch in any count keeps hitters off balance. He has been extremely effective against lefthanders, who hit .153 with 45 strikeouts in 111 at-bats against him last year (including the AFL). Short and far from imposing on the mound, Romo gives up a lot of fly balls, and his fringe-average fastball and trickery may not work against advanced hitters on a consistent basis. He'll report to Connecticut to see if he passes the Double-A test.