When Antonio Romero didn't hear his name called after sixteen rounds in the 2044 UMEBA First-Year Player Draft, he started questioning his future as a professional baseball player. The then-18-year-old was coming off a very strong season at the plate, slashing .363/.446/.458 for the Copenhagen Baseball Club. Just two years before, at age 16, Romero slashed .407/.503/.580 en route to being awarded the IFA Platinum Stick at 1B. However all of it was not enough to draw the attention of professional scouts to be drafted and Romero suddenly found himself with no clear path to start professional baseball.
Nine days later, he received a phone call from his agent that a team had showed interest in Romero as an undrafted free agent. "I asked my agent which UMEBA team was interested and he laughed and told me it wasn't a team in the UMEBA, but the BBA." Romero's agent then told him that the Boise Spuds were willing to give Romero to a guaranteed minor league deal with a six-figure signing bonus. "I thought I was getting pranked, to be honest," Romero recalls. Romero signed right away, inking a contract with a bonus of $321,000 and was immediately assigned to Boise's Short Season club in Hot Springs.
Romero would play 74 games that year for the Hot Springs Majestics, slashing a tepid .262/.360/.396 before spending the winter in the Florida Prospect League, where the teenage first baseman struggled in 21 games, hitting only .231 with just one home run. However the Boise front office was not deterred and decided let Romero repeat the 2045 season in Hot Springs as a starting first baseman/designated hitter. Whatever happened over the off-season worked for Romero, as he hit .393/.476/.598 for the Majestics in 32 games before being promoted to Single A Tulsa at age 19. Romero hardly skipped a beat, finishing the season out for the Ginzels, slashing .360/.438/.629 in 48 games. Between the two levels, Romero hit .373/.453/.617. The 6'6'" lefty-swinging prospect hit 14 home runs to go along with nearly twice as many walks (44) as strikeouts (25). Romero even flashed decent leather at first base, compiling a .990 fielding percentage and positive Zone Rating in 382 innings in the field.
For his impressive, albeit surprising season, Romero was named the 2045 Boise Minor League Player of the Year.
Tater Talk: 2045.06 – Unheralded Romero Named Minor League POTY
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Tater Talk: 2045.06 – Unheralded Romero Named Minor League POTY
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Re: Tater Talk: 2045.06 – Unheralded Romero Named Minor League POTY
Great storyline.
I think he'll make some kind of an impact at the BBA level.
I think he'll make some kind of an impact at the BBA level.
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