Earlier this week, MLB Pipeline ranked Red Sox minor league infielder Mikey Romero as one of the top 10 third base prospects in baseball heading into the 2026 season.
Romero slotted in at No. 5 on MLB Pipeline’s list behind the Brewers’ Andrew Fischer, the Mets’ Jacob Reimer, the Tigers’ Hao-Yu Lee, and the Athletics’ Tommy White. He placed ahead of the Diamondbacks’ LuJames Groover, the Blue Jays’ Juan Sanchez, the Dodgers’ Chase Harlan, the Brewers’ Brock Wilken, and the Giants’ Parks Harber.
Romero, who turned 22 last Monday, is currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as Boston’s No. 6 prospect. The left-handed hitter is coming off a solid season in which he batted .245/.300/.452 with 33 doubles, four triples, 17 home runs, 76 RBIs, 61 runs scored, five stolen bases, 34 walks, and 132 strikeouts in 111 games (489 plate appearances) between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester. He led the organization in doubles, extra-base hits (54), and RBIs.
After drawing praise from Red Sox manager Alex Cora in spring training, Romero returned to Portland (where he got into 16 games to end a bounceback 2024 season) for the start of the 2025 campaign. Despite missing most of June with arm fatigue, he still hit .254/.315/.440 with 18 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 40 RBIs, 40 runs scored, four stolen bases, 23 walks, and 74 strikeouts in 66 games (297 plate appearances) for the Sea Dogs before receiving a promotion to Worcester in early August.
Reaching the Triple-A level for the first time, Romero initially struggled out of the gate but powered his way through it by slashing .232/.276/.469 with 15 doubles, nine home runs, 36 RBIs, 21 runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and 58 strikeouts in 45 games (192 plate appearances) for the WooSox to close out his season. That includes a .214/.258/.500 line against lefties and a .235/.280/.463 line against righties.
While an aggressive approach led to his strikeout and walk rates going in the wrong direction, Romero made plenty of hard contact in his first stint with the WooSox. Among Triple-A hitters who saw at least 700 pitches last year, Romero ranked in the 95th percentile in barrel rate (14 percent), the 92nd percentile in average exit velocity (91.2 mph), the 89th percentile in hard-hit rate (47.1 percent), and the 85th percentile in expected slugging percentage (.443), per Prospect Savant.
On the other side of the ball, Romero saw playing time at every infield position besides first base between his stops in Portland and Worcester last season. By the time he joined the WooSox in August, however, he had moved off shortstop and was used strictly at either second or third base. At the keystone, he logged 164 innings and committed four errors in 73 chances. At the hot corner, he logged 216 innings and committed two errors in 49 chances.
Though he is listed at 6-feet and 175 pounds, Romero is now up to at least 210 pounds, adding considerable strength over the last two years following a 2023 that was marred by a series of back injuries, including a stress fracture. This winter, he took part in Trevor Story’s camp for teammates in the Dallas area and was in attendance for the Red Sox’ rookie development program in Boston. Sandwiched in between that was an appearance at Fenway Fest on January 10.
Amidst a busy offseason, Romero spoke to reporters (including Bill Ballou of The Worcester Guardian and Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe) at Fenway Park last week about what specific areas of improvement he has focused on.
“The Red Sox do a good job of letting us know what we’ve got to be better at,” Romero said. “For me, it’s moving better laterally on defense, more arm strength. I take pride in my defense. I’m doing everything I can to know that, whatever pitcher is on the mound, they know that if the ball is hit to me, it’s an out.”
Romero, who was originally selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2022 draft out of Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High School and then forwent his commitment to LSU by signing with the Red Sox for an under-slot $2.3 million, has put himself in a prime position to make his major league debut at some point in 2026. That is noteworthy when considering that he can become Rule-5 eligible for the first time later this year if he has not already been added to the 40-man roster by season’s end.
Given his emergence and sudden proximity to the big leagues, it would not be terribly surprising if Romero received his first non-roster invite to Red Sox spring training before camp begins in Fort Myers next month. He could join fellow infielder and rookie development program attendee Franklin Arias in that regard.
(Picture of Mikey Romero courtesy of the Boston Red Sox)
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