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Monday, March.18,  2013

Andrew Romine was drafted in the 5th Round of the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft. He comes from a baseball pedigree with his dad (Kevin Romine having played for the Boston Red Sox from 1985 – 1991) and his brother Austin Romine Catching for the New York Yankees this year – after having a cup of coffee for the Bronx Bombers in 2011.  This family has played in every defensive position in the Major Leagues except for the First Base position.  Kevin and Austin have even played a game at the Designated Hitter.

Josh Jones (Angels Correspondent): Follow @joshjones4

While he has not made the roster yet, Utility Infielder Andrew Romine might already be atop of Manager Mike Scioscia’s go to weapons.  Angel fans know how important recently departed Maicer Izturis was for the Angels, just as one-time fan favorite Chone Figgins, with the manager  putting him in the lineup nearly every day at any of the three Infield positions.

Izturis gave a steady switch-hitting bat who had a quality batting eye, the ability to put the ball in play on hit-and-runs, and a steady glove.  He looks and feels like a mirror image of Izturis, possessing all of the traits that the former Angels Infielder brought to the table except the fact that Romine now only bats exclusively from the left side.

Andrew Romine bunting for a base hit in 2009:

Andrew Romine has some speed to showcase for this team. He has already swiped 4 bags and scored 5 runs in his 34 AB this Spring Training. Romine has a 3 Slash Line of .265/.342/.695.  He is tied for 6th in AB during his time at Arizona.

The 2013 version of the Angels are seemingly going to Romine break camp with the team and fill a much-needed bench spot. Andrew is a 27-year old Shortstop who has been getting the majority of the work this spring since Erick Aybar has been playing in the World Baseball Classic for team Dominican Republic.

The Arizona State standout is a career .277/.352/.363 hitter in the Minor Leagues, spending time at Shortstop, Second-Base and third-base. The fact that Romine is getting the tarts at Short-stop over other quality options such as Brendan Harris and Bill Hall (before he injured his calf) shows that Scioscia is strongly considering giving the much coveted “super utility” title to Romine.

Kevin Romine was an extra OF with  Boston. He scored 89 Runs in 630 Career AB (decent production). Unfortunately he played his last game at the age of 30.

He is a lot different in contrast to his father Kevin (who played all Outfield positions for the Boston Red Sox and was on the 1986 World Series team that lost to the New York Mets). 

The Angels are blessed with a plethora of speedsters such as Trout, Aybar and Bourjos.  One could easily see Romine being a late inning defensive replacement/Pinch Runner for the #1 Third Baseman on the Depth Chart in  Alberto Callaspo.

While the man doesn’t possess much power at all, he has steadily grown his overall averages in the Minor Leagues each year.  Perhaps the Major Leagues running Interleague all of the year, and an AL team having more uses for an extra hitter on the roster throughout, maybe this will factor into Scioscia’s decision.

Austin Romine is touted as the best Defensive Catcher in the NY Yankees Camp.

While his brother Austin is in an open competition in the Yankees Spring Training Camp with Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart for a spot, Andrew is 3000 miles away doing the very same thing in Tempe Arizona.  Whether it is Romine East or West, or both, or none, I am sure that their father Kevin is very proud of both of them.

In his small stints of At-Bats at the Major League Level with the Angels, during the 2010 – 2012 seasons, Romine has a 3 Slash Line of .227/.292/.519 in his 44 AB – however he had 7 Hits in 17 AB during his callup last year. The man has been good in the Minor Leagues, featuring 167 Stolen Bases over 6 years.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

A big thank-you goes out to our ‘Angels Correspondent’ Josh Jones for preparing today’s featured article.  Josh Jones claims to be the biggest Angels fan there is. He has been religiously following the team since 2005 and have watched every game since.  His girlfriend and him attend about 40 games a year and love every minute of attendance. Josh is currently a senior at California State University, Fullerton working towards his Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing. Josh wishes to thank all of the readers for viewing his posts.  Follow Josh on twitter  Follow @joshjones4

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