The Phillies kicked off the fourth round and fifth of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft today by selecting a pair of left-handers, JoJo Romero out of Yavapai Community College and Cole Irvin from the University of Oregon.
The Phillies draft LHP JoJo Romero from Yavapai College, the same junior college that produced Ken Giles.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) June 10, 2016
Phillies select LHP Cole Irvin (U or Oregon) with fifth-round pick.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) June 10, 2016
Romero spent 2015 with the Nevada Wolfpack, where he a posted a 2.47 ERA in 37 innings over 22 games as a freshman. He then moved to Yavapai College, the same school Ken Giles attended, before signing with Arizona in November. He graduated from Oxnard High School in California. Romero has catapulted from being a raw arm in Nevada's bullpen into a top-of-the-rotation starter, logging an innings uptick by 73 2/3 frames. Here's MLB.com's full scouting report on the 19-year-old southpaw.
Yavapai, a junior college in Arizona, has had a top-notch baseball program for years, helping produce big leaguers like Curt Schilling and, currently, Kole Calhoun, Kirby Yates and Ken Giles. Romero, who transferred from the University of Nevada after his freshman year, has the chance to follow in their footsteps.
Romero has a four-pitch mix that he knows how to use effectively. He'll throw both a two- and four-seam fastball, with the former sitting in the 89-91 mph range and the latter touching 94-95 mph at times. While his curveball was his best secondary pitch at the start of his spring, his slider and changeup have improved and perhaps surpassed the curve at this point. He is capable of throwing all of his pitches for strikes.
There have been some concerns about his durability and some think he might end up in a bullpen. Though he is just six feet tall, there are teams that think he has the chance to be a back-end starter at the highest level. Willie Calhoun was taken in the fourth round out of Yavapai a year ago and Romero has the chance to do just as well.
Irvin just completed his senior season at the University of Oregon. He went a combined 20-12 with a 3.15 ERA. This past season, he went 6-4 with a 3.17 ERA. He missed the 2014 season after having Tommy John surgery. The surgery came after an excellent freshman season in which Irvin registered a 2.48 ERA in 16 starts and was a freshman All American. Irvin was drafted last year by Pittsburgh in the 32nd round, but opted to return to Oregon.
After missing the 2014 season at Oregon following Tommy John surgery, Irvin returned in 2015 and worked to shake off the rust. He struggled at the outset of the 2016 season, but it appears a switch went off late in the spring as he took over the Ducks' role as Friday night starter and looked more like the prospect he was coming out of high school.
The twice-drafted Irvin is the epitome of the advanced college lefty when he his firing on all cylinders. For much of the time since he returned from surgery, Irvin had been throwing his fastball in the 86-88 mph range, but was up to 93-94 mph consistently late in his redshirt junior season thanks to some added strength. His slider and changeup will flash above-average at times and he does a good job of throwing everything with the same arm speed to add deception. A good athlete with a solid pickoff move, he throws a lot of strikes, though he can be susceptible to the home run ball.
Irvin's ceiling is limited to that of a back-end starter, but he is really polished and if he is the guy he was late in the spring, he's a high probability big leaguer.
Stay tuned for more MLB Draft coverage as the Phillies continue to pick from the sixth round and beyond today.
