Boston Red Sox pitcher Jay Groome looking to shine again

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FORT MYERS, FL – MARCH 11: Pine tar and rain bag n the step to the Baltimore Orioles dugout before the Spring Training game against the Boston Red Sox at Jet Blue Park on March 11, 2018 in Fort Myers, Florida. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /

Jay Groome’s 2017 left many wondering if the Boston Red Sox will end up regretting using their first round pick on him in 2016. The hard-throwing lefty looks to right the ship and get back on the fast track to Fenway Park.

When the Boston Red Sox Selected a big, athletic lefty with a 70-grade curveball 12th overall in the 2016 draft, most within the organization celebrated. Jay Groome was touted as, perhaps, the top prospect in that draft but fell due to nebulous claims of character issues and signability concerns, but the talent was undeniable.

After a tumultuous full-season debut his star has dimmed, however, and he finds himself near the bottom of most top 100 lists this winter. His rankings at the four major prospect sites were 78, 83, 85, and 98. But on the heels of a strong spring outing, Red Sox pitcher Jay Groome is looking to shine again.

Draft Stock Falling:

When his name was called by Rob Manfred on June 9, 2016, Jay Groome ran outside clearly overcome with emotion:

Jason Groome ran outside after being selected by his favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. pic.twitter.com/ejVdWmj8pu
— John DeRosier (@JohnRDeRosier) June 10, 2016

The Red Sox were his favorite team growing up, and he was supposedly overjoyed to be picked by them. But his falling to 12th overall after being touted as a possible number one pick immediately kicked off speculation.

The signing bonus demands were well known to be enough to scare off some teams, but it was the character issues that were most intriguing. Keith Law downplayed the concerns in a chat from June 6.

Jeff: Hi Keith. What are the makeup concerns about Groome? Is it serious stuff or 17-yr. old immaturity stuff? Klaw: To me it’s immaturity and idiocy. No violence, no felonies, not a sociopath. I am more concerned about Delvin Perez’s makeup than Groome’s.

Eric Longenhagen did mostly the same but hinted at something a bit more serious that insiders were aware of.

Shawn: What are the character concerns on Jason Groome? Feel like whatever they are, they are overstated – kid’s only 17yo Eric A Longenhagen: I’ll say that there are issues and some of them are definitely of the, “Come one, he’s 17” ilk while others are not. Those latter issues are not so bad that I’d just take the kid off the board, but they’d give me pause and force me to sit down with the kid and learn about him. I will also say that some of what was circulating in the industry about him was absolute BS and teams were trying to Marino him down toward their pick, which I think is despicable.

Looking back, it now seems the character issues may not have been about him directly, but about his father.

A Difficult Pro Debut:

Groome left his first start of the year for A-ball Greenville in the second inning after getting roughed up and developing some lat tightness. When he returned in June, it was for the Low-A Lowell Spinners. In three starts there he allowed four runs in 11 innings, striking out 14. His final start before being promoted back to Greenville was stellar. 5 IP, 6 K, 2 BB and 0 ER.

He would spend the rest of the season on the mound for the Drive, and his results were inconsistent. Allowing 24 ER over 43 IP with 57 K, 22BB, and a 5.02 ERA, his run of 10 games including four in which he went 4 IP or fewer, two in which he allowed 5 ER, two in which he allowed 3 ER and one with 4 ER. He also left his final start of the year with forearm tightness and was shut down for his last two starts and the playoffs. That decision appears to have been precautionary.

The Silver Lining:

While his ERA and injury issues are worrisome, Groome had an 11.93 K/9 in that 10 game stretch demonstrating that his stuff is still there. With a strong start on Saturday, striking out 6 in 3 IP (watch the video here) as a reminder of the stud draft prospect the team selected more than a year and a half ago, the question remains: Can he get back to being a top pitching prospect in the game?

Chris Sale thinks so:

Sale thinks Groome’s raw stuff is better than his own.

“Obviously we have similarities, being pitchers and being left-handed,” Sale said. “But he’s got me by a pretty good amount. Like I said, he’s young and it’s great just being able to show him on this platform what it takes and the work that goes in. You can’t just roll out of bed and expect to go out and be effective. Just being able to talk to him, tell him what to expect and what to be ready for. He’s been getting after it. He’s a good kid.”

Considering Sale’s immense talent, that’s about as strong an endorsement as you will find about a prospect.

The Keys To A Successful 2018:

More from Call to the Pen

The stuff is obviously there, so what needs to improve if Jay Groome is to climb back up the top 100 rankings? Primarily, it comes down to the walk rate. With a repeatable delivery that doesn’t have any quirks or unnecessary moving parts, improving his control seems well within reach. More importantly, it’s likely a milestone that the Red Sox will look for before moving him to AA Portland.

And while neither of his injuries in 2017 was severe, having a healthy season is also essential for the 119-year-old lefty. Part of eventually ascending to the majors is building up his pitch count. Groome threw 55 and ⅓ innings last year so he has a lot of work to do before he can be expected to throw 150-170.

Jay Groome has all the talent in the world. The character issues that shadowed him entering and following the 2016 draft appear to have played out and mostly behind him. All that sits before him is focusing on baseball and putting in the work to try and reach his potential.

Next: Sox bench crunch

With Chris Sale taking the phenom under his wing, you have to think he is motivated to get after it.

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