The Minnesota Twins have finally made a splash for a starting pitcher. However, they’re still in need of some rotation depth for the 2018 season.
One name for Minnesota Twins fans to keep an eye on this Spring is Fernando Romero. The young righty is rising fast through the Twins Minor League system and could have an impact as early as this season.
Romero has been as impressive as any pitcher in the Twins system since joining the organization in 2012. However, he does come with some injury concerns so Minnesota will need to continue to take a cautious approach with the 21-year-old.
What Romero brings to the table
Romero has future star written all over him, as long as he can stay healthy. According to his MLB Pipelines scouting report his fastball grades out at 70. That means Romero will throw his fastball in the high 90’s, sometimes touching triple digits, with consistency.
Furthermore, according to scouts, he will be able to maintain his velocity deep into games so he projects well for the rotation. He also throws an above average slider that complements his fastball well, and his change-up will be a serviceable third pitch in the Major Leagues.
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Only 12 innings into the 2014 season Romero injured his pitching shoulder. He would miss the remainder of the ’14 season, as well as the entire 2015 season while recovering. The Minnesota Twins brought him back slowly and that strategy has paid off.
Across two levels of the low Minors Romero was 9-3 with a 1.89 ERA in 90 1/3 innings pitched in 2016. He surrendered only one home run while striking out 90 and walking only 15, showing no signs of the shoulder injury.
Romero followed that up going 11-9 with a 3.53 ERA for Double-A Chattanooga in 2017. He continued to show his strikeout stuff last season with 120 in 125 innings pitched. The more impressive thing is Romero’s ability to limit walks and home runs. He has allowed only 6 home runs over 303 1/3 innings pitched during his Minor League career.
The Minnesota Twins added Jake Odorizzi on Saturday night and that will help this team in ’18. However, Romero is a name to keep an eye on for the future. Along with Stephen Gonsalves, Romero will help form the next great Twins rotation.
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