3. Jason Groome, LHP
Birthdate: 8/23/98 (18 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: rookie, short-season A
Stats in 2016: 6 2/3 IP, 2.70 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13.79 BB%, 34.48 K%
Coming into the 2016 spring, Groome was regarded as the top left-handed high school arm, if not the top prospect in the entire draft. After a spring of some off-field concerns, his stock was a bit in the air coming into the draft in late May. Groome ended up slipping all the way to the Red Sox at #12.
Groome has a plus-plus fastball that has upper 90s top-end velocity, but sits in the 90-94 range with very good armside run. He has a curve that breaks like a big looper, but it comes in about 5-7 MPH faster than most looping curves you see in the league, making it hard to pick up for hitters.
his biggest attribute has been and will likely continue to be his ability to get the ball into the zone consistently
Groome’s change has flashed well, but his biggest attribute has een and will likely continue to be his ability to get the ball into the zone consistently.
He did struggle some with location in his one start in the New York-Penn League, but he did not get a ton of innings as the Red Sox just let him get his feet wet at this point. Some believe that he’ll be starting at high-A Salem in 2017, which would be incredibly impressive for a guy who will be 18 until late August of 2017.
Groome has a good build at 6’6″ and 225ish pounds, and he has a very good delivery that should prove to be repeatable. The biggest issue will be some of the off field stuff that never did get resolved for many teams before the draft. He will be intriguing to see how he is placed on industry top 100 lists as he has a wide range of opinions from those I’ve talked with.
Next: #2