The Pittsburgh Pirates 2019 DSL Standout Randy Romero

Today we will talk about a young 20-year-old standout Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Randy Romero who not only had an incredible 2019 season but earned the DSL batting title

With the sports world virtually stopping due to the Coronavirus outbreak, it left a multitude of fans and writers wondering what will happen next. In these confusing times we need something to occupy our time and take our minds off these things. I felt it necessary to talk about an up-and-coming Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Randy Romero.

The Pirates signed Romero out of Mexico in 2017 in a crop of six international signings that year by the team all of which were from Mexico. The 155-pound youngster was assigned to the Dominican Summer League in 2018, where he struggled a bit as most 18-year olds do in their first year. He batted a respectable slash line of .253/.326/.333 with his advanced numbers showed slightly above-average wOBA of .328 and a slightly below-average wRC+ of 95.

There were promising numbers from Romero to see, though. His stolen base numbers weren’t flashy, but he had 12 of them while only getting caught four times. He also showed incredible poise at the plate with runners in scoring position and two outs. In 41 at bats in those situations he slashed .293/.326/.439.

Defensively, he showed a decent arm in the outfield with a total of six assists and with a rare three double plays turned. With his frame, he seems to fit more in a center field role.

In 2019 we may have witnessed an incredible progression rate with Romero. In 245 plate appearances, he batted a DSL team high .376/.418/.495 as well as a massive boost in his stolen base numbers with 36. One of the more impressive things with Romero lies in the advanced numbers. With an OPS of .913, wOBA of .433, 16.2 wRAA, and a wRC+ improvement of 54 points to 149. All of which that earned him the DSL batting title and an All-Star selection.

Romero’s splits were something to marvel at as well. During a three-month span he remained consistent and had a historic July where he slashed .452/.476/.575. His away numbers were superior as well, with an excellent OPS of 1.013 and an average of .382. One thing that may surprise some people is how stacked the 2019 DSL Pirates were ten players averaged .300 or better while only losing 16 games. While the team had plenty of above average, it was Romero that stood out among all the others.

With Romero turning 20 it’s safe to say he will be promoted to a team like the West Virginia Black bears or Greensboro Grasshoppers. His incredible on-base ability, coupled with his lighting in a bottle speed, should allow him to be successful when the MiLB season kicks off, hopefully, sometime in May.