Stefen Romero

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Stefen Daniel Romero

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Biographical Information[edit]

Stefen Romero made the majors in 2014.

Romero hit .412 with 53 RBI in junior college as a freshman then transferred to Oregon State University. He batted .291/.361/.466 with 51 RBI in 55 games as a sophomore. With the Bourne Braves that summer, he split first base with Kyle Roller, hitting .234/.314/.411 with 23 RBI in 35 games as the team won its first Cape Cod League title. He tied for third in the league in home runs (5), behind Roller and Hunter Morris, and was 5th in RBI. As a junior, he improved his batting line to .326/.427/.603 with 41 RBI and 13 homers in 48 games.

He was taken in the 12th round of the 2010 amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners. The signing scout was Joe Ross. Due to an injury late in the college season, he did not play in the minors that summer. He hit .280/.342/.462 with 16 home runs and 16 steals (in 25 tries) for the 2011 Clinton Lumber Kings, bouncing between 2B, 3B and the outfield. He was named team MVP.

In just his second season of professional baseball, 2012, he hit .352/.391/.599 with 23 home runs, 101 RBI and 34 doubles in 116 games split between the High Desert Mavericks (.357/.391/.581 in 60 G) and Jackson Generals (.347/.392/.620 in 56 G) while playing second base exclusively (he fielded .975). He was the first minor leaguer to hit for the cycle in 2012, going so May 22. Among Mariners farmhands, he tied Leon Landry for second in doubles (behind Brad Miller), led in average (.011 ahead of Landry), was third in home runs (after Steven Proscia and Joseph Dunigan), led in slugging (.015 ahead of Landry), was second in RBI (behind Proscia), was second in total bases (one behind Miller) and was third in OBP (behind Miller and Luis Jimenez). He was third in the US-based affiliated minors in average behind Adam Eaton and Mike O'Neill. He hit .333/.375/.511 with 9 RBI in 11 games for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League. Baseball America named him the Mariners' #8 prospect. He was named the Mariners Minor League Player of the Year and a Baseball America 2nd team Minor League All-Star.

He reached Triple-A for the first time in 2013, producing at a .277/.331/.448 clip with 74 RBI for the Tacoma Rainiers (he was also 5 for 18 with a double and two walks for High Desert). Now playing outfield primarily, he made no errors.

Romero made the Mariners out of spring training in 2014. In his major league debut on April 1st, he started in right field, hitting 7th against the Los Angeles Angels. He flew out against C.J. Wilson in the 3rd and 4th, fanned against Wilson in the 6th and lined out against Matt Shoemaker in the 8th. Michael Saunders replaced him in right field in the bottom of the 8th. He collected his first big league homer on May 5th, off Scott Kazmir of the Oakland Athletics; it broke a 2-2 5th inning tie and propelled the Mariners on their way to a 4-2 win. He played 72 games overall for Seattle, hitting .192 with 3 homers and 11 RBIs. With Tacoma, he hit a lot better, with a .358 average in 32 games.

Romero then spent the bulk of 2015 and 2016 in the minor leagues, making only brief stays of 13 and 9 games at the major league level respectively. In 2015, he hit .292/.33/.494 in 116 games for Tacoma, with 37 doubles and 17 homers, but only .190 for Seattle. In 2016, he was at .304/.361/.541 in 106 AAA games, with 24 doubles, 6 triple, 21 homers and 85 RBIs, but again only tasted a cup of coffee in Seattle, where he hit .235. On November 28th, seeing his chances of playing regularly in the Show diminish, he decided to sign with the Orix Buffaloes of Japan's Pacific League. He spent a few years in Japan, then returned to play at Triple-A in 2022, before playing in the Mexican League in 2023.

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