Drew Michael Rom (born December 15, 1999) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the St. Louis Cardinals of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

selected him in the fourth round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

Amateur career

Rom attended Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. In 2018, as a senior, he had a 9–6

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

, a 2.27

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and 129

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s for the baseball team and was named Kentucky's Mr. Baseball. The

selected Rom in the fourth round, with the 115th overall pick, of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

. He signed for $650,000, forgoing his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Professional career

Baltimore Orioles

After signing, Rom made his professional debut with the Rookie-level

Gulf Coast League Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home ...

, posting a 1.76 ERA over innings. In 2019, he played with the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Single-A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, earning All-Star honors while appearing in 21 games (making 15 starts) and pitching to a 6–3 record, a 2.93 ERA and 122 strikeouts over innings. He did not play a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Rom began the 2021 season with the Aberdeen IronBirds of the High-A East and was promoted to the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

of the Double-A Northeast in late July. Over 23 games (twenty starts) between the two clubs, Rom went 11–1 with a 3.18 ERA and 120 strikeouts over innings. He returned to Bowie to begin the 2022 season. After five starts, he was placed on the injured list, and was activated less than a month later. In mid-August, he was promoted to the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. Over 26 games (25 starts) between the two teams, he posted an 8–3 record with a 4.43 ERA and 144 strikeouts over 120 innings. On November 15, 2022, the Orioles selected Rom's contract and added him to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Rom was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to begin the 2023 season. In six starts for the Tides, Rom registered a 4–1 record and 2.87 ERA with 32 strikeouts in innings pitched. On May 9, 2023, Rom was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. Rom did not appear in a game for the Orioles during their series against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

, and was optioned down to Triple-A Norfolk on May 11, becoming a

phantom ballplayer A phantom ballplayer is either a baseball player who is incorrectly listed in source materials as playing in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, often the result of typographical or clerical errors, or a player who spent time on an MLB Major Leag ...

St. Louis Cardinals

On August 1, 2023, the Orioles traded Rom,

César Prieto César Prieto (born May 10, 1999) is a Cuban professional baseball infielder in the St Louis Cardinals organization. Career Prieto was a member of the Cuba national baseball team. He also joined the Elefantes de Cienfuegos in 2017. His perform ...

, and Zack Showalter to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher

Jack Flaherty Jack Rafe Flaherty (born October 15, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft, he made his MLB debut in 2017 ...

. In 8 starts for the Cardinals, he struggled to a 1–4 record and 8.02 ERA with 32 strikeouts across innings. Rom began the 2024 season on the injured list due to a biceps injury. He was transferred to the 60–day injured list on April 30, 2024. On May 9, it was announced that Rom had undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rom, Drew 1999 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Baseball players from Cincinnati Baseball players from Kentucky Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Gulf Coast Orioles players Highlands High School (Fort Thomas, Kentucky) alumni Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players Norfolk Tides players St. Louis Cardinals players