Washington Nationals: Seth Romero makes long awaited debut
The Seth Romero tenure has begun for the Washington Nationals and lets hope this bumpy road leads to beautiful places.
When the Washington Nationals selected pitcher Seth Romero with the 25th pick in the first round of the 2017 draft, many thought he would be fast tracked to the big leagues.
Romero, who has a checkered past, was kicked off the baseball team while attending the University of Houston prior to the Nationals selecting him. He has dipped his toe in the hot water as well since joining the organization, though when he is on the field he has shown flashes of why the Nats used a first round pick on him.
With just two years in the minors before missing all of 2019 recovering from Tommy John surgery, Romero was a bit of a surprise when 60 man rosters were announced before the shortened season began in late July.
His body of work consists of just 14 professional games, none above Class A. In limited time he has accumulated a WHIP of 1.16 and a 13.1 K/9 during his time in the minors.
With the unexpected announcement Sean Doolittle was going on the injured list and even more shocking news Seth Romero would be taking his place on the active roster, the Nationals were sending the message the development period begins now.
The major league debut of Romero went as you would think it would for a 22 year-old with less than 50 innings of professional experience.
He walked three, struck out four, and was undone by the long ball. Unfortunately for him, the home run came with the bases loaded. By the time the dust had settled, Romero was headed to the showers with a 21.60 earned run average.
Romero will have better outings as the season moves on. Especially if he can find the strike zone on a more consistent basis. This wasn’t the premiere he or the Nationals would have hoped for. The first day jitters are out of the way now and there will be room for growth as Romero finds himself a part of the future plans in Washington DC.
They should be the future plans though, and not come during a shortened season where the Nationals are on the outside looking in, on the playoff picture.