South Side Sox Top Prospect No. 90: Mitch Roman

Mitch Roman
6´0´´
161 pounds
Bats: Right
Age: 23
SSS rank among all second basemen in the system: 6

After Roman was selected in the 12th round in 2016, he showed blew up rookie ball, slashing .332/.392/.418 with 26 stolen bases. He was as slappy and fast as you can get in Great Falls. However, once Roman earned his promotion to Kannapolis in 2017, he faltered against better competition. The wRC+ dropped from 111 to 71 in 2017, and he did not flash his speed (eight stolen bases). What he was able to do in Kannapolis though, was homer — thrice.

So, 2018. Roman had the high of 2016 and the low of 2017, so what did he do this past season? Well, he combined the high and low in just one season for us. Roman was again promoted in 2018, this time to Winston-Salem, and he played pretty well. He still did not show power, but you can only expect so much power from somebody weighing in at 161 pounds. What Roman did was get on base. He had a career-high BB-rate (9.9%) and was able to bring down his K-rate a few ticks. He even showed a bit more of that speed, with 15 stolen bases. And after all was said and done, Roman set a new career high in wRC+ by just a wisp (112) — so he got another promotion, to Birmingham.

Unfortunately, as a Baron, Roman was very bad. His wRC+ fell to 51, but that’s only half the concern. His BB-rate plummeted to 2.9% while the K-rate skyrocketed to 37.1% — that’s even higher than Joey Gallo’s MLB K-rate.

The crispest indication of Roman’s future as minor league depth is his very strength, that slappy play. He had a .386 BABIP in Birmingham while hitting .232, and only three of those hits were for extra bases.

On the plus side, whenever Roman falters, he bounces back. He was taken in the 12th round and then played brilliantly in rookie ball. He did not adjust to SALLY pitchers in 2017, but put together a good half-season in A+. Now, coming off a terrible 27 games in AA, Roman’s modus operandi would be to surprise us all and improve, by a lot, in 2019.

Time will tell, but 2019 will be his age 24 season, so he does not have much rope left, especially given his slappy skill set is built on his speed, and a lot of ground balls.

Take a look!

2019 South Side Sox Top 100 Prospects

90. Mitch Roman, 2B
91. Ty Greene, C
92. Tanner Banks, LHSP
93. Jake Elliott, RHRP
94. Kevin Escorcia, LHRP
95. Luis Rodriguez, RHSP
96. Ian Dawkins, LF
97. Victor Diaz, RHRP
98. Travis Moniot, LF
99. Will Kincanon, RHRP
100. Brian Clark, LHRP