Sports
From Draft Pick To Prospect, High Expectations Remain For Barnegat Alum Jason Groome
Groome, drafted No. 12 by the Boston Red Sox last year, is a highly touted prospect entering his first full season of professional baseball.
Last year at this time, Jason Groome was expected to be the first player taken in the Major League Baseball Draft.
After a topsy-turvy season that included being ruled ineligible due to a technical violation of transfer rules, the Barnegat pitcher fell to the No. 12 spot, where he was drafted by the Boston Red Sox.
He signed a deal with the Red Sox for more than $3 million over the summer.
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And now, he’s back near the top of many lists as a prospect getting ready to enter his first full season of professional baseball.
In January, mlb.com ranked Groome as the second best left-handed pitcher in all of baseball, and Baseball America has him ranked as the No. 43 overall prospect.
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Groome got the start in three minor league games after being drafted last year, according to overthemonster.com. He threw two innings in the Gulf Coast League, striking out a total of eight batters, allowing one run and not giving up a walk. In one appearance with Lowell in New York Penn League action, he threw 2 ⅔ innings, striking out two, walking four and allowing one run.
The website projects he will pitch the full year, and will start off with the Low-A Greenville Drive.
The Blue Claws host the Drive in Lakewood on May 10, 11 and 12.
Groome told masslive.com during a recent interview that he was a Red Sox fan when he was growing up. He was six years old when they won the 2004 World Series, and his favorite memory of the team is the 2013 Fall Classic.
Despite playing in his favorite team’s organization and all the attention he's received and is continuing to receive, he said he feels he has nothing to prove: “You just go out there and do what you've been doing for the past years of your life and it's going to work out.”
Photo caption: In this Aug. 16, 2015, file photo, Jason Groome pitches during the Perfect Game All-American Classic high school baseball game, in San Diego. Groome is a top prospect in the Major League Baseball draft. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi, File)
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