Red Sox: An In-Depth Look at Jason Groome
Who exactly is Red Sox first-round selection Jason Groome? What accounted for his precipitous descent in the draft? Of paramount importance, is he signable?
With the 12th overall pick in the 2016 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, the Boston Red Sox selected MLB.com’s top-ranked prospect, left-handed pitcher Jason Groome, from Barnegat High School in New Jersey.
There exist a myriad of questions and trepidations surrounding Groome that were deemed problematic enough for his precipitous descent to the 12th selection, which will be addressed and scrutinized later on in this piece.
For what it’s worth, in a family chock full of Yankee fans, Groome’s favorite baseball team is the Red Sox:
“I’ve just taken them as my best team,” Groome told MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “Dustin Pedroia is my favorite player just because of his work ethic, and David Price, who I like to model myself after as well. It’s just awesome ending up with Boston. I couldn’t ask for a better team to go to. I’m so comfortable because they’re my favorite team.”
Groome, at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, was projected by most to have been selected with one of the top two or three picks in the Draft. Upon entering the draft, Groome was ranked at the pinnacle of MLBPipeline.com’s Top 200 Prospects list, though, admittedly, he was not expected to be selected first overall.
“I really didn’t feel that bad because everything happens for a reason,” Groome said. “I always said I just wanted to end up somewhere I’m comfortable and feel protected. Like I said, there’s no other spot to do that than Boston. They’re my favorite team.”
Next: An Exceptional Talent
According to ESPN and MLB draft expert Eric Longenhagen, Groome projects to be an exceptional talent:
“I believe Groome is the most talented player in the entire draft. He has a prototypical major league innings-eater’s build, a graceful, repeatable delivery and exceptional athleticism. He has been into the mid-90s with his fastball and has one of the better curveballs I’ve ever seen from a high school player. The curve projects to plus or better, and there’s enough athleticism and a clean enough arm action that scouts can project an above-average changeup and command as well. That’s a front-end starter’s profile. Groome has fallen this far because high school pitchers are inherently risky and because teams are concerned about his makeup. But this is great value for the Red Sox if they can convince him to sign. This is the complete package, but one that is not without risk. Groome is a teenage boy who throws a baseball really hard, and that on its own presents teams at the top of the draft with a substantial and potentially expensive quandary. Prodigious though he may be, Groome will likely need around four or five years of development before he’s ready to debut. Playing Russian Roulette for half a decade with a very expensive left arm is not something most GMs and scouting directors, whose jobs may depend on the success of such a high pick, are volunteering to do. Teams atop the draft might like the way things set up for them if they take a cheaper, low-risk option instead of Groome and move bonus money around to other picks.“
ESPN senior writer Keith Law, on the selection of Groome with the 12th pick:
“This was the pick of the night, and about as good a sign as Red Sox fans can get on the direction of the amateur scouting department under new president Dave Dombrowski. Groome was No. 2 on my board with a case for No. 1, an athletic lefty with a grade-70 curveball and very easy arm action who slipped due to concerns about his character off the field. On the field, he’s as promising as it gets, and the Red Sox should be thrilled to get someone with this kind of upside even though they didn’t have a pick in the top 10. Several teams ahead of them had the chance to take him and passed in favor of good prospects but guys I ranked lower because they lack Groome’s upside.”
Although “Signability,” was the most frequently cited reason for the descent that may ultimately cost Groome upwards of $6 million, “maturity,” likely a result of the following innocuous blunder, was not without reference.
Next: Suspension
Groome attended Barnegat H.S., in New Jersey as a freshman and sophomore. He spent his junior year at IMG Academy in Florida, and returned home to complete his high school career back at Barnegat H.S., among his friends and family.
Despite this seemingly innocuous action, Groome was temporarily suspended for violating a transfer rule.
More from Red Sox Draft
- Red Sox Mock Draft: Henry Davis could be calling Boston home
- MLB Mock Draft has Red Sox surprisingly passing on Vanderbilt pitchers
- Red Sox Draft: Top five draft picks from team’s current roster
- Red Sox 2018 MLB draft signings, news and rumors
- Red Sox 2017 MLB Draft Results: Pitcher Tanner Houck selected 24th overall
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association necessitates that any athlete who transfers schools without changing addresses must be non-participatory during the first 30 days of the season or half of the team’s entire amount of contests. The NJSIAA found that Groome violated said rule when he transferred back to Barnegat for his senior year of high school after spending the second half of his junior year of high school at IMG Academy in Florida.
To clarify, because his home address, that of his parents’, did not change upon said transfer, it was incumbent upon him, via the NJSIAA’s bylaws, to report such a transfer, and serve as a non-participant in his team’s first 30 days of the season. His failure to report such an action to the NJSIAA, resulted in a retroactive 30-game suspension, and Barnegat’s forfeiture of the two games in which Groome pitched, including a 19-strikeout no-hitter thrown in mid-April.
Next: An unfair ruling?
While clearly comprehending the rule’s intended purpose of maintaining the athletic integrity of high school competition, three things about said rule are incomprehensibly unfathomable.
First, I would imagine that it is the rule and not the exception, that a student who changes his location with the expressed intention to attend a distant boarding school, performs such an action without the accompaniment of his parents, thus rendering the student’s home address unchanged.
More from BoSox Injection
- Giants’ desperation post-Carlos Correa debacle highlights Red Sox’ lack of urgency
- Dave Dombrowski reunites with former Red Sox ace on Phillies
- 10 grievances against the Boston Red Sox in honor of Seinfeld holiday Festivus
- Red Sox risk repeating rookie mistake with Eric Hosmer release
- Former MLB All-Star slams Red Sox for ’embarrassing’ treatment of Rafael Devers
Second, Groome was transferring back to the school that he attended his freshman and sophomore years, with the sole purpose to conclude his high school career with the companionship of his friends and family. One can argue that, by the letter of the law, he was in violation; however, by the spirit of the law, he was not guilty of any sort of wrongdoing, and to mischaracterize such an action performed by a 17-year-old kid is dishonorable.
Third, the rulings rendered under this rule, and their associated punishments, are not granted any opportunity for an appeal process; for had such a process been initiated, sane minds would have concluded that Groome’s intentions were innocent, and in no way an attempt the violate the very integrity that said rule was designed to protect.
Nonetheless, without venturing into the timing of the unmerited suspension, it is certainly reasonable to attempt to quantify the financial hit absorbed by Groome as a result of the NJSIAA’s antiquated policies.
Despite a general lack of information regarding Groome’s 30-day suspension by the NJSIAA, the negative publicity surrounding, said suspension provides a limited explanation for Groome’s plunge in his anticipated draft position. Groome’s signability, or lack thereof, is likely the greater culprit, and his recent activity with respect to college commitments, could only have served to fuel such doubts.
Next: Leverage of college
On Tuesday June 7, 2016, Groome decommitted from Vanderbilt and committed to junior college Chipola College, exponentially increasing the lefthander’s leverage in any subsequent contract negotiations. By transferring to Chipola College, if Groome’s contract demands are not satisfied, he has the option to play for Chipola College for one year and re-enter the draft in 2017. Had Groome maintained his commitment to Vanderbilt, he would have been required to attend three years of college, unable to re-enter the draft until 2019.
The signing of draft picks in terms of dollar amount is highly regulated in Major League Baseball. All selections in the first ten rounds of the draft carry with them an assigned value, and the sum of those values represent what a team can spend, without penalty, on all players selected throughout the first ten rounds. A club can exceed its spending pool by up to five percent, with the only penalty being a large tax on the overage; a club that exceeds its pool by greater than five percent, must relinquish a future first-round draft pick, and the penalties become much greater if the pool is exceeded by greater than 10 percent.
Groome’s family and adviser have maintained their demand for a high return, unequivocally a significant contributor to his slide in draft position.
The Red Sox are in a skintight predicament; however, one has to believe that a “handshake” agreement of some sort was made prior to Groome’s selection. The Red Sox possess just short of $7 million to disperse among the entirety of their selections from the first ten rounds. While that figure may appear to be a large amount of money, the 12th pick alone, used in the selection of Groome, is slotted at approximately $3.2 million. If he were to demand first selection money, or anything remotely approaching it, the Red Sox cannot sign him, as the first selection is slotted for $9.02 million; the Red Sox have only $7 million to sign all of their selections from the first ten rounds of the draft.
According to Boston general manager Mike Hazen, “they are hopeful and encouraged” they can get it done. Hazen also added that they aren’t worried about those reported character issues, claiming, “We know who Jason Groome is.”
Next: Red Sox Need Sonny Gray Trade To Happen
Only time will determine the accuracy of Hazen’s assertions and the concomitant future success of the Boston Red Sox.