Sea Dogs infielder Mikey Romero, 20, has been impressive since him promotion to Double-A in late August, hitting six home runs in his first 11 games. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Most of the tattoos that make up the sleeve on Mikey Romero’s left arm are memories and reminders. On the inside of his biceps, in Roman numerals, is the date he was drafted 24th overall by the Boston Red Sox – July 17, 2022. Next to that is a quote that helps Romero work through the daily grind of life, “Die with memories, not dreams.” On the outside of his biceps is St. Michael, his namesake and a nod to his faith.

On his forearm, the shortstop has his most personal tattoos – a cross and praying hands. Romero got them shortly after he lost his father, Michael, to cancer in February.

“I probably won’t be getting any more. They just remind me of a time when my pops was here, but also how I felt during that time and what got me through that time,” said Romero, 20. “At the time I got it, my faith wasn’t as strong as it is now. My faith over the last year has grown a lot. Me and my dad had a lot of talks about that, and how important it was and how it’s the center of our lives.”

Injuries slowed Romero’s initial progress up the Red Sox minor league ladder, but now, two weeks into his promotion to Double-A and the Portland Sea Dogs, he’s showcasing the potential that made him a 2022 first-round pick out of Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High School.

Romero is ranked Boston’s 16th best prospect by MLB Pipeline, and 14th at Soxprospects.com. He’s the 13th Boston prospect ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 30 to play in Portland this season.

“He earned the promotion. He’s doing a lot of things well. We wanted to give him a taste of Double-A,” said Brian Abraham, Boston’s director of player development. “For Mikey, we wanted him to go up and compete… Bat speed has been a focus this year. He’s a product of what he’s been working on.”

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Romero joined the Sea Dogs in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 27. In 11 games with the Sea Dogs entering Wednesday’s contest at Hadlock Field against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Romero has six home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs scored.

“We put him right in the leadoff spot, and I’ll be honest with you, I was surprised with the pop. You know he’s making good swing decisions with which pitch he wants to hit, and he’s not missing them,” said Sea Dogs Manager Chad Epperson.

By no means has Romero’s jump to Double-A been perfect. In 50 at-bats, he’s struck out 19 times, with just a single walk.

“The home runs have been nice. I feel like I’m striking out a little more than I’d like. The adjustment from High-A to Double-A, the (pitchers) are just around the zone a lot more,” Romero said. “I’m trying to stick to my plan, and I’ve done a good job with that, and that’s why the home runs are coming.”

Romero credits his father with a lot of his hitting success, noting the hours they spent working on the game in the backyard of their San Diego home. They played a version of Vitilla, a game from the Dominican Republic that uses a broomstick for a bat and a bottle cap for a ball. Romero hit beans or seeds, anything to jump start his hand-eye coordination. The drills helped Mikey and his sisters, Sierra and Sydney, who enjoyed All-American softball careers at Michigan and Oklahoma, respectively, and Sophia, currently playing softball at Boise State.

A stress fracture to his lower back limited Romero just 34 games and 144 plate appearances last season, mostly at Low-A Salem. He spent the offseason rehabbing before finally playing in games in May. After three games in Fort Myers, Florida, with the Rookie League club, Romero joined Greenville, where he hit .271 in 59 games, with 10 home runs, 40 RBI and 40 runs.

Romero said he’s learned from the Red Sox not to worry about a game in which he goes 0 for 4. The season is too long and baseball can be too random to dwell on small failures. It’s about steady improvement and having good at-bats. Like top prospects Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel and Marcelo Mayer, who were promoted from Portland to Triple-A Worcester last month, Romero is focused on the process.

“They really dive deeper than just the box score with us. When you’re putting good swings on the ball, it’s going to fall eventually. This game is weird. You can get jammed three times and get three bloop hits, or you could hit three balls at 105 (exit velocity) to dead center and it doesn’t go out on a day the wind is blowing in,” Romero said.

Since Romero joined the Sea Dogs, the plan has been to give him a few days of rest here and there to prevent a flare up of his back injury. He wasn’t in the lineup for Tuesday’s series opener against Binghamton, but Epperson expected him to play in four of the final five games of the regular season and any playoff games, should the Sea Dogs advance. Portland entered Wednesday with a half-game lead over the Somerset Patriots, the New York Yankees’ Double-A affiliate, in the Eastern League’s Northeast Division. One of those clubs will move on to face the Hartford Yard Goats in the first round of the playoffs next week.

“It’s pretty awesome, especially since it’s with the Yankees. The goal at the big league level is to win, so if we can do that at this level, too, it would be pretty cool,” Romero said. “We’re just trying to take it day by day and not worry about what Somerset is doing.”

Romero and his fiancé, Krista, have a wedding planned for November. Since last offseason was dedicated to rehab, Romero plans to focus on strength this offseason. He’ll work out at home in California before reporting early to camp in Fort Myers in January.

“Whether I start here or Worcester next season, probably here, but wherever that is, it’s about being physical. This game is physical. I want to be a big leaguer. I want to be an every day big leaguer,” Romero said. “I want to be a guy like (Jarren) Duran who plays just about every single day. He does that because of the way he takes care of himself.”

Romero looks at the tattoos on his left arm, and thinks of how far he’s come. Then the art reminds him there’s a lot of work to do still.