ST. PETERSBURG -- With only a handful of starts remaining this season, Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero is running out of time to state his case for the American League Rookie of the Year honor.n Saturday night, Romero will take the hill against a Rays team he defeated July 1, when he logged eight shutout innings and scattered four hits. It was one of the 12 victories that Romero has collected in a strong introduction to the big league stage. "A lot of the guys, they jokingly say, 'Rookie of the Year. Rookie of the Year,'" Romero said recently. "I try not to look at it like that. If I win it, it's going to be an unbelievable accomplishment for me, personally, but I've just got to take it start by start." Earlier this season, the 24-year-old Romero -- a first-round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft -- appeared to be the leading candidate for the league's top accolade for a rookie. He grabbed a spot in Toronto's rotation in the spring and quickly evolved into the No. 2 arm behind ace Roy Halladay on the Jays' staff. As the year has gone on, though, the list of candidates has grown. Romero has clear competition in pitchers Rick Porcello of the Tigers and Jeff Niemann of the Rays. White Sox third baseman Gordon Beckham, Rangers shortstop Elvin Andrus and Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold are also in the discussion. Entering Saturday's appearance on the road against the Rays, Romero has gone 12-8 with a 4.22 ERA over 25 starts for Toronto. Compared to Porcello (13-9 with a 4.22 ERA) and Niemann (12-6 with a 3.80 ERA, Romero ranks first with 119 strikeouts, 6.97 strikeouts per nine innings and 60 percent of his appearances being quality starts. If Romero does piece together a strong finish, convincing voters to lean his way, he'd be in a class of his own in the Blue Jays' record book. Toronto has never had a pitcher take home the Rookie of the Year Award since the club came into existence in 1977. The only players to win the award in team history are Alfredo Griffin (1979) and Eric Hinske (2002).