Player: Jason Groome
Position: LHP
DOB: Aug. 23, 1998 (Age: 17)
Height/Weight: 6'6", 220 lbs
Bats/Throws: L/L
School: Barnegat High School (New Jersey)
College Commitment: Vanderbilt
Background
When Baseball America released its first top-100 draft prospects list on March 10, Jason Groome was perched atop those rankings in the No. 1 spot.
However, eligibility issues put a damper on his senior season as he attempted to transfer back to Barnegat High School following a junior season at IMG Academy in Florida.
Joe Zedalis and Matthew Stanmyre of NJ.com provided the details on April 14:
Barnegat High School senior left-handed pitcher Jason Groome, the No. 1 overall prospect for June’s Major League Baseball draft, has been ruled ineligible by the state’s governing body for high school athletics for violating the state’s transfer rule, NJ Advance Media has learned.
Barnegat must forfeit victories in which Groome played this season and his statistics over the past two weeks will be erased, including the 19 strikeouts he racked up during a no-hitter he threw against Central Regional Monday.
Groome spent last season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., before transferring back to Barnegat this year to finish his high school career playing with childhood friends. According to New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association bylaws, Groome’s move from the boarding school back to Barnegat did not constitute a bona fide change of address and Groome had to sit out 30 days or half of the season’s games before becoming eligible.
He continued to impress scouts upon returning to the mound, but his standing as the consensus No. 1 prospect was gone, and some scouts began to question his elite standing.
"There’s a feeling that Groome should just be blowing people away, not giving up hits and walks to average high school hitters," one scout told Zedalis in another article.
"He’s a legitimate top-three pick as a lefty who throws hard, but he’s a high schooler, which makes him a bit more of a gamble," said another scout, per the article.
Prior to Groome, the highest-drafted players in New Jersey high school history were Jeff Kunkel (1983) and Willie Banks (1987), both of whom went No. 3 overall in their respective drafts.
Pick Analysis
While his senior season was somewhat polarizing, Groome still has the makings of an elite talent. Left-handers with big, projectable frames and polished power stuff are few and far between.
Here's what MLB.com's Prospect Watch had to say about Groome:
Groome has everything to be a top-of-the-rotation left-handed starting pitcher, from his 6-foot-6 frame to the potential to have three above-average to plus offerings. The fastball is already there, up to 96 mph and sitting 92-93 mph over the summer, and in the 90-94 mph range in the early stages of the spring.
Groome features a nasty curve as well, with tight rotation and bite. He doesn't throw his changeup often, but he's shown some feel for it, with some sink. Groome is generally around the plate and has clean mechanics, with a pretty good overall feel for pitching.
That certainly sounds like a pitcher capable of leading a staff if all goes according to plan, and that's exactly what his new team is hoping he'll develop into.
MLB Player Comparison: Clayton Kershaw at the same age
Comparing anyone to present-day Kershaw is simply unfair, so the second part there is important.
Groome has tremendous upside and all the physical tools to develop into a front-line starter, and Kershaw was a similar prospect when he was taken No. 7 overall in the 2006 draft out of Highland Park High School in Texas.
While Kershaw relies more on his slider these days as his main secondary offering, he was a fastball/curveball guy when he began his pro career just like Groome is now.
Kershaw had an advanced feel for pitching and smooth mechanics as a prep prospect, just like Groome, and both possess the ideal projectable size with Kershaw standing 6'4" and a sturdy 225 pounds these days.
It seems every projectable left-hander with a good curveball draws comparisons to Kershaw, but Groome actually has the complete package to come close to delivering on that high praise.
Projection: No. 2 starter with ace upside
Major League ETA: 2021
Chances of Signing: 95 percent
It's always tricky with Vanderbilt commits, but Groome went high enough and is headed for a big enough bonus that he'll almost certainly be starting his pro career.
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