Cincinnati Reds’ Sal Romano – projecting the rookie

No other Cincinnati Reds’ rookie pitcher engages the imagination the way that Sal Romano does for the fans.

The media that covers the Cincinnati Reds compares Sal Romano to former Red Mat Latos, who was released by the Toronto Blue Jays in June..  At first blush the hope is that Romano is better than Latos.  Romano is already behind Latos in development at a second glance.

At the end of his age 23 season Latos was 23-29 with 72 MLB starts under his belt.  So far this season, Romano totals a record of 2-3 with six games started.  Romano is not Latos, as it turns out.

Another pitcher mentioned because of his build is Roger Clemens.  Clemens is the same as Latos.  He started a great career at 21 and was a full-time starter by 22.

Tom Seaver is another pitcher that comes to mind.  Seaver though was more of a drive pitcher.  He also was about a year or so ahead of Romano’s timeline in development.

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The best former Reds maybe the lurch of a right-hander, Aaron Harang.  He didn’t make his MLB debut until his age 24 season.  That year he went 5-4 over 15 starts.

In his third full season with the Reds, his age 26 season, Harang led the National League in wins, games started, complete games, strikeouts and batters face.  This is a decent comparison, but there must be a better one.

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The Cincinnati Reds may have mis-typed Sal Romano as a starter based solely on his inability to go deep into games.

Romano could be the next Harang.  In six games started, though, only twice has Romano pitched more than five innings.  That is not indicative of someone rearing up to pitch six complete games in one season.

Based on his inability to go deep into games, his ability to throw if a bit wild at times, and his upbringing in Connecticut, there is former Red that may just be the best comparison of all.

Former Nasty Boy Rob Dibble exploded onto the scene in his age 24 season for the Cincinnati Reds.  As a 20-year old in Single-A the Reds started Dibble, but that was the lone season for that experiment.

The Reds, of course, can’t have all of their pitchers in the bullpen.  Michael Lorenzen is going to try to pitch in the rotation next season.  That may open a spot for Romano in the bullpen and by then he may have worn out his welcome in the rotation.

Next: Stephenson or Hernandez, who would you rather see pitch?

The Reds need to find five starters and let the rest of their best pitchers comprise the bullpen.  Blake Wood could be gone this off-season and someone is bound to back up a prospect truck to acquire Raisel Iglesias.  Seems like the Reds could use Rob Dibble version 2.0 in 2018.