With the 35th overall pick, and their second selection, in the 2020 MLB Draft, the Colorado Rockies threw a bit of a curveball and took prep catcher Drew Romo.
It was their second high school player in as many picks and also, notably, not a pitcher who most fans and analysts likely assumed Colorado would target after taking Zac Veen with their first pick.
So why Romo?
The reports about his glove are overwhelmingly positive.
Romo was considered the best defensive catcher in Texas four years in a row and it isn’t just the surface level stuff that is easier to measure. He does that as well, blocking the ball in the dirt, framing up the zone, and firing strong accurate throws to the bases with the best of them.
But it goes further. He calls his own games, a rarity among catcher of that age. He is said to have an advance feel for the game and working with pitchers. This is why Perfect Game called him the best overall defensive player across all age divisions.
There are a few more questions about the bat but plenty to like in a smooth swing that operates from both sides of the plate. If that tool manages to develop, the Rockies have nabbed an absolute steal here and as AJ Haefele suggested during our live coverage here at DNVR, he could well be the best catcher the franchise has ever seen.
Even if the bat remains a liability though, the likelihood that Romo reaches the big leagues and stakes out a solid career are high considering the glovework. “There’s a lot that goes into it, on the physical side of it and the mental side,” he told Perfect Game. “It’s a grind back there when it’s hot in the middle of the summer. It can be taxing. So you have to train, get in the gym, make sure you’re in really good shape. That way, you can not only play the position but play is effectively…the mental part is just as much of a grind.”
Whether this was the right direction to go from a wider perspective of what the Rockies need in their farm system, what they typically need at the MLB level, and what they’ve had the most difficulty attracting via free agency (hint, the answer to all of those is pitching) Colorado seems to have gotten a good one here.
He will need to outperform the franchise’s history at this position. He will need to perform at a level that doesn’t have our hindsight meters going off over the pitchers taken just after him. But if Colorado has done their due diligence in scouting this kid and he can become their catcher of the future, then the Rockies have just had an incredibly good first day of the draft.
