Miguel Romero

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Athletics #26 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: The A's signed Romero from Cuba in 2017 as a 23-year-old. He has primarily worked out of the bullpen and posted a 3.96 ERA in 45 appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2019. He spent 2020 at the alternate training site in San Jose, where he showcased a new changeup he learned by watching videos on the internet.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Romero has long looked the part of a major league reliever. His fastball sits 95 mph with sink and touches 98. He pairs it with an 86-88 mph breaking ball that shows late life. He previously struggled to commit to a third pitch, allowing hitters to sit on his heater if command of his breaking ball went awry, but his new changeup could be the answer to those problems and has the look of a potentially plus pitch. Romero's control is firmly below-average and his walk rate has increased successively at each new level.
  
  THE FUTURE: The A's continue to ask Romero to focus more on the little things like holding runners, but there's no denying the arsenal. He could help the A's bullpen in 2021.
• 
  Ranked Athletics #27 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: Signed as an international free agent in Feb. 2017, Romero was already a veteran of the Cuban Industrial League. The experience helped him make a steady ascent through the minors. Romero has worked out of the bullpen for most of his career in Cuba and the United States.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Romero's stuff has never been an issue. Featuring three major league-quality pitches, Romero has always looked the part of a big league reliever. The art of pitching, however, has always been a challenge. Romero's intangibles, deception, quality command and feel are lacking. He has been most effective against righthanders thanks to a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and tops out at 98. He backs it up with a hard-breaking, mid-80s slider. Lack of a change-of-pace pitch as well as erratic command and quality have limited his effectiveness. Romero's conviction and use of his knuckle-curveball to attack lefties has been slow, which has forced him into a platoon-type of role.
  
  THE FUTURE: Romero, 25, enters 2020 with a chance to break with the A's as an extra arm due to his weapons versus righties, though his ceiling may be limited due to lack of true weapons against lefties.
• 
  Ranked Athletics #30 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: The Athletics signed Romero in February 2017 as part of the same international signing class as fellow Cubans Lazaro Armenteros and Norge Ruiz. Romero had to wait months for his visa to be approved, but once he reached the U.S. he advanced to high Class A Stockton and participated in the Arizona Fall League in 2017.
  
  Scouting Report: Romero returned to the California League as a 24-year-old in 2018. He cruised through 22 relief appearances before a second-half promotion to Double-A Midland, where his command wavered before a strong finish that included 16 strikeouts and three walks in 14.1 innings to go with a 1.88 ERA. Romero throws the best slider in the system and has the potential to be a late-inning reliever with a mid-90s fastball that bumps 98 mph. He threw an above-average changeup in Cuba that the A’s would like to see him use more often to upset the timing of lefthanded batters.
  
  The Future: Romero’s performance has improved as his comfort level has grown, and he could factor in the big league bullpen later in the 2019 season if he can ace assignments to Double-A and Triple-A.

• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The A's signed Romero from Cuba in 2017 as a 23-year-old. He has primarily worked out of the bullpen and posted a 3.96 ERA in 45 appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2019. He spent 2020 at the alternate training site in San Jose, where he showcased a new changeup he learned by watching videos on the internet.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Romero has long looked the part of a major league reliever. His fastball sits 95 mph with sink and touches 98. He pairs it with an 86-88 mph breaking ball that shows late life. He previously struggled to commit to a third pitch, allowing hitters to sit on his heater if command of his breaking ball went awry, but his new changeup could be the answer to those problems and has the look of a potentially plus pitch. Romero's control is firmly below-average and his walk rate has increased successively at each new level.
  
  THE FUTURE: The A's continue to ask Romero to focus more on the little things like holding runners, but there's no denying the arsenal. He could help the A's bullpen in 2021.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The A's signed Romero from Cuba in 2017 as a 23-year-old. He has primarily worked out of the bullpen and posted a 3.96 ERA in 45 appearances at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2019. He spent 2020 at the alternate training site in San Jose, where he showcased a new changeup he learned by watching videos on the internet.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Romero has long looked the part of a major league reliever. His fastball sits 95 mph with sink and touches 98. He pairs it with an 86-88 mph breaking ball that shows late life. He previously struggled to commit to a third pitch, allowing hitters to sit on his heater if command of his breaking ball went awry, but his new changeup could be the answer to those problems and has the look of a potentially plus pitch. Romero's control is firmly below-average and his walk rate has increased successively at each new level.
  
  THE FUTURE: The A's continue to ask Romero to focus more on the little things like holding runners, but there's no denying the arsenal. He could help the A's bullpen in 2021.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Signed as an international free agent in Feb. 2017, Romero was already a veteran of the Cuban Industrial League. The experience helped him make a steady ascent through the minors. Romero has worked out of the bullpen for most of his career in Cuba and the United States.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Romero’s stuff has never been an issue. Featuring three major league-quality pitches, Romero has always looked the part of a big league reliever. The art of pitching, however, has always been a challenge. Romero’s intangibles, deception, quality command and feel are lacking. He has been most effective against righthanders thanks to a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and tops out at 98. He backs it up with a hard-breaking, mid-80s slider. Lack of a change-of-pace pitch as well as erratic command and quality have limited his effectiveness. Romero’s conviction and use of his knuckle-curveball to attack lefties has been slow, which has forced him into a platoon-type of role.
  
  THE FUTURE: Romero, 25, enters 2020 with a chance to break with the A’s as an extra arm due to his weapons versus righties, though his ceiling may be limited due to lack of true weapons against lefties. BA GRADE 40 Risk: High BA GRADE 40 Risk: High
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Signed as an international free agent in Feb. 2017, Romero was already a veteran of the Cuban Industrial League. The experience helped him make a steady ascent through the minors. Romero has worked out of the bullpen for most of his career in Cuba and the United States.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Romero's stuff has never been an issue. Featuring three major league-quality pitches, Romero has always looked the part of a big league reliever. The art of pitching, however, has always been a challenge. Romero's intangibles, deception, quality command and feel are lacking. He has been most effective against righthanders thanks to a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and tops out at 98. He backs it up with a hard-breaking, mid-80s slider. Lack of a change-of-pace pitch as well as erratic command and quality have limited his effectiveness. Romero's conviction and use of his knuckle-curveball to attack lefties has been slow, which has forced him into a platoon-type of role.
  
  THE FUTURE: Romero, 25, enters 2020 with a chance to break with the A's as an extra arm due to his weapons versus righties, though his ceiling may be limited due to lack of true weapons against lefties.