Washington Nationals’ Davey Martinez likes prospect Seth Romero: “He looks fearless.”

A lot has happened since Washington’s Nationals selected Seth Romero with the 25th pick in the 1st Round of the 2017 Draft. Romero, who was disciplined while in school at the U of Houston, was sent home from Spring Training in 2018 for violating a team policy, and then underwent Tommy John surgery in September of ‘18.

Two years later, however, the lefty is currently with the big league team in Flushing, Queens, New York’s Citi Field, as part of the taxi squad that’s accompanying big league clubs during this (planned) 60-game pandemic season.

“He’s been throwing the ball well in Fredericksburg,” Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez told reporters after announcing on Monday afternoon which of the players in the Nats’ 60-Man Player Pool joined the team on their first road trip of the year. “I wanted to put eyes on him and get him up here, but if somebody goes down, he’s another guy who we feel like can help us in the bullpen or even spot start.”

Romero, ranked 11th on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top prospects in the organization, is one of four left-handers (along with Tim Cate, Matt Cronin, and Nick Wells) who has been working out at the Nationals’ Alternate Training Site in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Martinez was asked before the second of four with the Mets in New York, if Romero might be considered for a role on the big league roster, with left-hander Sean Doolittle’s not the same pitcher he’s been right now, and fellow southpaw Roenis Elías on the 60-Day Injured List, leaving Sam Freeman as the lone trustworthy lefty in the bullpen right now.

Is Romero up for a look because they are actually considering using him at some point this season if they need a left-hander in the bullpen? Are they really thinking about that?

“Yeah, we could be,” Martinez said on Tuesday. “Like I said, in this year anything is possible.

Rizzo and Kline talk about Nats’ top two 2017 Draft picks:

LINK: Rizzo and Kline talk Romero and Crowe; 2017 MLB Draft

“He’s been throwing the ball well in our camp. So, we want to see what he does.

“We know he had Tommy John surgery, so we’re trying to build up his innings, but yet, here’s a kid that’s been throwing strikes that has three really good pitches. He looks fearless. Every time I see him, he’s very calm on the mound, so we’ll see how this all plays out, but I like him. I think if he continues to progress the way he is, he’s going to be a big part of our future. And it could be soon.”

“Right now we looked at him as a guy that could possibly come up here and if somebody went down or somebody got sick, that could step in and one, throw strikes, and two, get big league hitters out,” Martinez added.

“We feel like he’s got the stuff to get big league hitters out. So that’s why he’s here.”