Ricky Romero

Cal State Fullerton could approach or even top the draft record of 13 players from one school this year, but Romero is the only one assured of going in the first five rounds. In fact, he is the favorite to be the first lefthander selected overall, possibly in the first 10-15 picks. Romero has three solid, major league-ready pitches that he can throw for strikes almost at will, including a fastball that sits at 90-91 mph and touches 93-94. He also has an excellent curveball and a better feel for a changeup this year after he reduced his reliance on his curve. But Romero gets his highest grades for his makeup, temperament and competitive zeal. He is an excellent student of the game who understands the science of pitching, and is a master at controlling the tempo of a game. He often has one poor inning a game, gets mad at himself and responds by pitching better the rest of the way. He also holds runners well and fields his position as well as any college pitcher. He has improved by leaps and bounds since being a lightly recruited player from a suburban Los Angeles high school. He was the top prospect in the Great Lakes League after his freshman year and quickly established himself as one of the aces on last year's College World Series championship team, going 14-4, 3.37 before becoming one of Team USA's most effective pitchers last summer. He has posted similar numbers this year, but has considerably boosted his strikeout ratio from 7.3 per nine innings to 10.0.