Jason Joseph Groome (born August 23, 1998) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

organization. He attended

Barnegat High School Barnegat High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Barnegat Township, in Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as a part of the Barnegat Township Sc ...

in Barnegat Township, New Jersey, and was considered a top prospect in the 2016 MLB draft, where he was the 12th overall selection by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

, who traded him to the Padres in 2022.

High school career

Groome began high school at

in Barnegat Township, New Jersey. He made the school's varsity

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team as a freshman. As a sophomore, had a 6–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

and 0.57

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in innings pitched for the school's baseball team. He transferred to the

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

in Bradenton, Florida, before his junior year, and committed to attend

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

on a

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

scholarship. Groome pitched to a 5–0 record and a 1.22 ERA with 81 strikeouts and nine walks in 43 innings as a junior. Due to feeling homesick, Groome opted to return to Barnegat for his senior year. However, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association ruled that Groome was ineligible to pitch for Barnegat in April 2016 because the transfer did not involve a change of address. He regained his eligibility after 30 days, or half of Barnegat's games.

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

Groome was a potential first overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, and worked out for the Philadelphia Phillies, who had the first pick. Prior to the draft, Groome changed his college commitment from Vanderbilt to

Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor's ...

, a junior college in Florida. He was selected 12th overall by the

in the draft, falling in part due to a reported signing bonus demand of $4 million and because of his change in college commitment; teams had signability concerns. The Red Sox and Groome agreed to a $3.65 million signing bonus. In 2016, Groome made two starts for the rookie-level

Gulf Coast League Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

before being promoted to the

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York-Penn League. He posted a combined 2.70 ERA in three games for the Red Sox and Spinners. He spent 2017 with both Lowell and the

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, going 3–9 with a 5.69 ERA in 14 games between both teams. At the start of the 2018 season, Groome did not play, with what was initially thought to be a

flexor A flexor is a muscle that flexes a joint. In anatomy, flexion (from the Latin verb ''flectere'', to bend) is a joint movement that decreases the angle between the bones that converge at the joint. For example, one’s elbow joint flexes when one ...

strain. On May 9, 2018, the Red Sox announced that Groome would undergo Tommy John surgery to repair a torn

ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspect of the elbow uniting the distal aspect of the humerus to the proximal aspect of the ulna. Structure It consists of two port ...

. In April 2019, Groome was projected to return mid-way through the 2019 season; he made his first appearance on August 21, pitching an inning for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox. After another one-inning appearance in the Gulf Coast League, Groome made one appearance with Lowell; overall for the season he pitched four innings, allowing five hits and one run (2.25 ERA). After the 2020 minor league season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Groome was invited to participate in the Red Sox' fall instructional league. Following the 2020 season, Groome was ranked by '' Baseball America'' as the Red Sox' number six prospect. On November 20, 2020, Groome was added to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. In May 2021, he was assigned to Greenville, now a

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

team. In early September, he was promoted to the Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Sea Dogs became part of the Red Sox syst ...

. Overall for the 2021 season, Groome made 21 starts and compiled a 5–8 record with a 4.81 ERA. Groome returned to Portland to start the 2022 season. The Red Sox promoted him to the

Worcester Red Sox The Worcester Red Sox (nicknamed the WooSox) are a professional minor league baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning play in 2021, the team is the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, succeeding the Pawtucket Red Sox. The ...

of the Triple-A International League on July 14.

San Diego Padres

On August 2, 2022, the Red Sox traded Groome to the

in exchange for

Eric Hosmer Eric John Hosmer (born October 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, and the Boston Red Sox ...

Max Ferguson Max Ferguson, OC (February 10, 1924 – March 7, 2013) was a Canadian radio personality and satirist, best known for his long-running radio programs ''Rawhide'' and ''The Max Ferguson Show'' on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Bi ...

, Corey Rosier, and cash considerations. The Padres assigned Groome to the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He made 10 starts for El Paso after the trade, posting a 3–2 record and 3.16 with 44 strikeouts in innings pitched. Groome was optioned to Triple-A El Paso to begin the 2023 season, and was one of San Diego's final roster cuts after pitching to a 1.29 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 5 spring appearances.

Pitching style

At the time of the MLB draft, Groome threw a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is c ...

between , a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

, and a curveball. After recovering from Tommy John surgery, his fastball velocity declined to , but he also developed a

cut fastball In baseball, a cut fastball or cutter is a type of fastball that breaks toward the pitcher's glove-hand side, as it reaches home plate. This pitch is somewhere between a slider and a four-seam fastball, as it is usually thrown faster than a slide ...

and a

two-seam fastball A two-seam fastball is a pitch in baseball and softball. It is a variant of the straight fastball. The pitch has the speed of a fastball and can also include late-breaking action caused by varying the pressure of the index and middle fingers on t ...

Personal life

Groome has two older sisters and two younger brothers. , Jay Groome was living in Fort Myers, Florida. In December 2020, Groome married Amanda Muller, also of Barnegat, New Jersey; the two were expecting their first child in July 2021.

References

External links

SoxProspects.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groome, Jason Living people 1998 births People from Barnegat Township, New Jersey Barnegat High School alumni Sportspeople from Ocean County, New Jersey Baseball pitchers Baseball players from New Jersey Gulf Coast Red Sox players Lowell Spinners players Greenville Drive players Portland Sea Dogs players Worcester Red Sox players