2020 MLB Draft: Scouting Colorado Rockies 35th overall pick Drew Romo

There’s a modern comparison to Romo but there is another, better comparison to the Colorado Rockies draft pick.

At the very least, Romo should develop into a defense-first back-up, but has the potential to be compared to Yasmani Grandal by most pundits, but I feel this is recency bias and lazy.

A better comp to me is Jason Kendall. A middle-infield convert who brings his above-average athleticism from days as a shortstop to behind the plate, even more than Grandal. Below you can see a comparison of Kendall’s and Romo’s scouting reports:

As you can see, Kendall was rated a bit lower in every category except power. Romo has a more advanced glove than the future All-Star, who surprisingly never won a Silver Slugger or Gold Glove, leaving Kendall as one of the most underrated ballplayers of all-time.

This could be a future look at Romo. He may never be a superstar like Grandal (which is his ceiling), but he could be an under-the-radar, underrated type who has an extremely productive career (which is his floor). You could do a lot worse at the 35th overall pick.

Here is what MLB.com had to say about Romo before the draft:

"Romo’s prowess behind the plate allowed him to lock down the starting job on the U.S. 18-and-under national team for the last two years. A potential Gold Glover, he possesses soft hands, advanced receiving skills and a strong arm with a quick release. He also garners praise for his leadership ability, work ethic and baseball IQ. Scouts have fewer questions about Romo’s bat after he performed well against quality pitching during the summer, though he didn’t get off to a great start in 2020 before his senior season ended prematurely. A switch-hitter, he has a better swing from the left side but has improved from the right. The Louisiana State commit will provide more contact and on-base ability than power, but he can become a .260 hitter with 12-15 homers per year while running the bases better than most catchers."