Romo comfy in his first big league clubhouse

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Class has been in session every day in Rockies camp for Drew Romo, heralded as one of the premier young catchers in the game. Lauded for his work alongside pitchers, the 35th overall pick from the 2020 Draft has attempted to soak in his first taste of big league camp.

“To rub shoulders with [Kyle] Freeland and [Germán] Márquez, [Kris] Bryant, [Charlie] Blackmon, it’s a stepping stone of development,” manager Bud Black said of the advantages young catchers have coming into the Rockies’ clubhouse. “You knock the awe off of being around big league players.”

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Dating back to 2015, only seven high school catchers have been drafted in the first round (including Competitive Balance Round A). Zooming out even further, Joe Mauer (2001) is the lone high school first-rounder dating back to 1982 to have delivered at least 5 WAR while sticking behind the dish.

The nuances of catching professionally are rigorous, even for seasoned collegiate catchers to pick up on out of the gate. But Romo, rated by MLB Pipeline as the Rockies’ No. 4 prospect and MLB’s No. 84 overall prospect, made the jump straight from The Woodlands (Texas) High School to Single-A Fresno in 2021.

“I’ve always been ready for big situations,” said Romo, a non-roster invitee to camp. “I think that’s a testament to all of the levels of baseball that I’ve played at -- Team USA, showcases. You just get used to it. I’ve been ready for it.”

Romo was a member of the Team USA 18U national team in 2018 and ’19. Playing on such stages undoubtedly prepped him for a quick acclimation to the pros. He has logged just 16 plate appearances across the past two years in which he has faced a hurler younger than him (as opposed to 743 plate appearances vs. older pitchers).

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Romo will get more seasoning in the club’s Minor League ranks during 2023 (with a current Coors Field ETA of 2024), but the opportunity beforehand to work hands on with bench coach Mike Redmond, who boasts 13 years of big league experience as a player and three more as a manager, will serve as another lesson in Catching 101.

Black has emphasized how integral the defensive aspect of catching -- pitch-calling, game management -- is to the position. Fortunately for Romo, his skills behind the dish are already viewed as superior to those of his peers, with his 60-field grade (on the 20-80 scouting scale) ranking as the highest mark among all Top 100 catching prospects to begin 2023.

Adding further intrigue to Romo’s prospect profile is that he is a switch-hitter. The 21-year-old proclaims he is equally comfortable on each side of the plate, and the career numbers bear that out: a .405 slugging percentage as a lefty and a .395 mark as a righty over his first two seasons.

Romo posted a .314/.345/.439 slash line in his first pro season before spending the entire 2022 campaign at High-A Spokane. A hand issue cropped up in late July, both ending his time behind the dish and sapping him of his extra-base pop. He was a full-time designated hitter for his final 24 appearances.

Using the offseason to recover and recharge, Romo got back to his roots and found advice from a familiar voice.

“There are so many great resources in pro ball, but I think it’s kind of easy to overthink stuff and do too much,” Romo said. “My dad, he’s my No. 1 coach. So me and him, we just went back to the basics and totally simplified everything.”

Citing a desire to further improve his blocking upon his in-game return to catching, Romo will continue to refine his setup, targets and stance as he works through the Rockies’ Cactus League schedule, which begins Saturday vs. the D-backs at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.

While the Rockies enjoy a relative wealth of talented young backstops in their pipeline, Romo was succinct and direct about where his defensive home will be in 2023 and beyond, saying:

“I’m the guy, I’m a catcher.”