Red Sox take Romero, Temecula’s Paciolla goes to Cubs
— At home, surrounded by family and a few close friends, Mikey Romero waited patiently for his phone to ring, while watching the 2022 MLB Draft. Ranked at No. 65 on the MLB pre-draft board, Romero, who hails from Menifee, had no doubt his phone would ring on Day One of the draft, which only covers the first two rounds. Getting the phone call in round one though, by the Boston Red Sox, well only Romero himself could tell you what that moment felt like.
“I was actually on the Red Sox just about every Little League team I was playing for,” Romero, who also noted that he owns a Red Sox blanket, said. “It’s pretty cool how things worked out. I would say it’s destiny.”
For the second straight year, the Red Sox took a high school shortstop in the first round of the MLB draft by grabbing Romero, who just graduated from Orange Lutheran earlier this summer. If that high school sounds familiar, it should. That is where Yankees ace Gerrit Cole went, and it produced current prospects Cole Winn, Garrett Mitchell and Josh Morgan.
Who did the Red Sox take first last year? That would be Marcelo Mayer, a five-tool stud taken as the fourth overall pick, whom Romero considers to be his best friend.
“I mean, me and Marcelo, I would say, are best friends,” Romero told the media. “I text him on a regular basis. We played travel ball together for two years. The relationship is really good and I am really close to Marcelo. I FaceTimed him like 10 minutes after I heard my name picked and we were just going crazy about the news.”
Mayer is a product of Northern California (Eastlake High School) and is having a solid first season of pro ball, slashing .297/.395/.517 with eight homers and 34 RBIs in 209 at-bats at Single-A Salem.
The nearly six-foot, 168-pound, 18-year-old Romero hits left and throws right and does not turn 19 until January. Romero is known for his bat-to-ball skills but has projectable power. In fact, MLB Network’s Harold Reynolds said on night one of this year’s draft that he was impressed with Romero’s pop during the MLB Draft Combine.
There is some debate among scouts whether he will stay at shortstop or move to second base, but the positional competition that could take place in the coming years between two left-handed-hitting shortstops (Mayer and Romero) is not up for discussion right now. Nor is the fact the Red Sox took another high school shortstop with their second pick, Cutter Coffey (Bakersfield), who could actually wind up a third baseman or pitcher. Things, and positions, can always change in their respective journeys to the big leagues.
“I mean, may the best man win,” Romero said. “But at the end of the day, we’re all playing to win.”
Romero, a Team USA alumnus (2015, 2019), was committed to play college baseball at LSU, but he said his intention is to turn pro with the Red Sox. The slot value for Romero will reward him with just under $3 million, but already having NIL contract deals with Big League Chew and WIN Reality, the newly made millionaire, is no stranger to being in the spotlight.
“I’m looking to sign with the Red Sox and start my professional career,” Romero said. “I’m going to play wherever they want me to play.”
The Red Sox’ selection of Romero at No. 24 overall was somewhat surprising within the industry, as he was rated much lower in most draft rankings and projected to go later in mock drafts. While he hadn’t shown a lot of power in his high school career, the Red Sox have actually seen him change in their scouting of him leading up to the draft.
“He started to grow into some power maybe a little bit later,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Paul Toboni said. “Really wasn’t even in the middle of the spring season. It was in the last five or six weeks. We worked him out, he participated in the MLB combine at Petco Park, and he started showing this power.”
Toboni said the Red Sox believed Romero would not be available when they selected again at No. 41.“I think there’s very, very, very little chance he would have gotten to 41,” Toboni said, and the club took him when they had the chance.
For Romero, it is motivation as he begins his professional career.
“Comparing myself to other guys, there’s never a doubt that I was going to be a top guy,” Romero said. “I feel really confident in my ability. Those mock drafts, it’s kind of fuel to the fire for me. It adds to the chip on my shoulder and it is just another reason for me to prove people wrong, prove myself right. For me, like I said, it is about winning, it is about competing, so I am excited I got selected to the Red Sox that winning tradition.”
Romero will be adding his name to a brief list of first-round high school draft picks from the southwest RivCo area, which really only includes Brice Turang, drafted out of Santiago High School in 2018. Turang is still awaiting his Major League debut, playing in the Brewers organization.
When MLB’s Opening Day commenced Thursday, April 7, only two local players were on active rosters. Chicago Cub Patrick Wisdom, a 2009 graduate of Murrieta Valley High School, who was also a first-round pick, but taken at No. 52 in 2012 with a supplemental pick out of St. Mary’s College, and Tyler Wade, who was recently traded back to New York, but started the year with the Angels, originally drafted in 2013 by the Yankees in the fourth round out of Murrieta Valley High School.
Of course, there are plenty of players from the area that have also donned an MLB uniform in their time, which includes Allen Craig (Chaparral), Brooks Pounders (Temecula Valley), Reed Johnson (Temecula Valley) and Rich Hunter (Linfield), just to name a few.
Some of the local players currently battling it out in the Minor League ranks, according to links from baseballcube.com, include recent NWL Player of the Week Andy Thomas (Murrieta Mesa), playing High-A in the Mariners organization; Kevin Padlo (Murrieta Valley) who is also with the Mariners, currently in Triple-A with Tacoma; Brhet Bewley (Chaparral), playing for Kansas City with the Midland Rockhounds (AA); Justin Toerner (Chaparral) playing for St. Louis with the Springfield Cardinals (AA); Eli Lingos (Great Oak) playing Triple-A for the Cleveland Guardians with the Columbus Clippers; Rob Brantly (Chaparral) playing for the Yankees with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA); and Ryan Lillie (Vista Murrieta), playing for the San Diego Padres with the San Antonio Missions (AA).
Padlo and Brantly have both already made their Major League debuts. Padlo in April 2021 with the Colorado Rockies and Brantly in 2012 with the Miami Marlins. Brantly is also no stranger to the difficulties of having to stay ahead of the pack in such a competitive environment, having play time stints at the highest level with the White Sox, Giants, Phillies and recently with the Yankees.
As day two of the MLB Draft got underway, Monday, July 18, Temecula Valley’s Christopher Paciolla, a shortstop, committed to UCLA (No. 116 on the ESPN prospect list) was taken in the third round by the Chicago Cubs. As the 86th overall pick, Paciolla’s slot money hovers right around the $735,000 mark, which is not too shabby for an 18-year-old with plenty of upside.
Going into the final day of the draft, Tuesday July, 19, there is no telling what could happen in the MLB Draft war rooms, which makes it exciting for any player that is eligible for the call. Should these local players actually decide to sign, wherever they get picked, and move forward with whatever their signing bonus may be, they will join an exclusive group of area athletes that have, or still are, playing professional baseball.
In all, 616 players will get drafted this year when all is said and done. Follow along at http://www.mlb.com.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
