Romero healthy, better prepared
Jo Jo Romero has a long list of hobbies: cooking, hiking, paintball, video games, basketball, soccer, football, bowling and darts.
The 22-year-old has nearly as many pitches in his repertoire. That can be a nightmare for opposing batters.
At the start of last season with Double-A Reading, however, Romero was the one struggling.
“Early on, I tried to experiment too much,” he admitted. “I got away from who I was as a pitcher, an aggressive, attacking guy with whatever pitch it is.”
Romero adjusted. The lefthander limited the number of pitches he took to the mound and, not coincidentally, foes’ success against him was limited.
Romero posted a 2.44 ERA in 11 starts after a sluggish first month in Double-A before an oblique strain ended his 2018 season in mid-July.
The 2016 fourth-round pick impressed enough last season and this year during spring training (1.13 ERA, .143 batting average against, 1.00 WHIP in three outings with the Phillies) to earn a spot in Lehigh Valley’s six-man rotation. His first turn comes Tuesday against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
“In the offseason, I was able to break down my mechanics and build myself from the ground up,” Romero said. “I took that to spring training, where I had a lot of positive things happen. I was facing big-league hitters every day, and that helped me progress as a pitcher.”
The Nevada resident cruised through his first two professional seasons across stops in short-season Williamsport, low-A Lakewood and high-A Clearwater.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder’s struggles early last season with Reading provided his first significant challenge. He was 0-3 with a 1.75 WHIP and a 7.18 ERA in his first five Double-A outings.
His attempt to use all eight pitches in his arsenal led to six home runs allowed in his first 26 1/3 innings.
It became evident that for Romero, less was more.
“He learned how to not have so many pitches and use as many pitches,” said IronPigs pitching coach Steve Schrenk, who was with Romero last year in Reading. “He used three pitches that made him the pitcher he was toward the end.”
Romero listened and, not coincidentally, opponents’ bats went quiet. Left-handers batted only .213 with a .295 slugging percentage against him. Foes hit just .150 with runners in scoring position and two outs.
He did that while battling shin splints throughout 2018. The oblique injury eventually stopped his run of strong outings.
“We never saw a healthy Jo Jo,” Schrenk said. “We had glimpses and when we did, he was real good.
“This year, his legs are good. He feels great. It showed in spring training.”
Romero will take the mound Tuesday at Coca-Cola Park with half the number of pitches in his arsenal as a year ago. His fastball is sneaky quick with his deceptive delivery adding to the degree of difficulty for opposing hitters. His changeup and slider have been mainstays. He polished a cutter as a reliable fourth pitch.
The Phillies’ seventh-rated prospect, according to MLB.com, leaned on every resource last season to break out of his first professional slump. From pitching coordinators to trainers and coaches, he was not stubborn about accepting help.
“In previous years, I’d have a start here and there, but [in 2018] there was a collective month when things weren’t going well,” Romero said. “It was real encouraging to take a big leap forward this year after having gone through a terrible month, having to climb out of that and have the success I had last year.”
Romero still has all of his off-the-field interests, and he hasn’t given up on picking up a new grip or new pitch while playing catch.
He has the wisdom now, however, to ignore the itch to take every pitch he can grip into a game.
Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or at thousenick@mcall.com