Former Red Sox 1st-round pick Jay Groome is working his way back

"He’s ready to take the next step."

Jay Groome has not pitched in a game since undergoing Tommy John surgery in May 2018 Bill Parmeter/Red Sox

August 5, 2020

2 minutes to read

Jay Groome, a highly-touted Red Sox prospect whom the team selected in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft, is on the mend.

The left-handed pitcher, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018, has thrown just 66 innings in stints between minor league stops in Greenville and Lowell since being drafted, and only four innings since the surgery. Now, Groome is part of the Red Sox’ player pool that was sent to work out at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, but he did not pitch in any of the team’s intrasquad scrimmages. Pawtucket pitching coach Paul Abbot explained the team’s handling of Groome to WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

“He’s missed a lot of time, obviously,” said Abbott. “He doesn’t really have a routine and is probably one that you probably need to pitch in an upper-level. His bullpens are very conservative. They are very deliberate. We just kind of wanted him to get a little bit more aggressive in his bullpens before he goes up there. … He’s looked good in his last couple of side sessions and he’s ready to take the next step, which is a live BP and then an inning.”

Here are all the pitches Jason Groome threw today in his first chance to face batters while living life in the player pool (Thanks to @PawSox Facebook stream) pic.twitter.com/j1WB3oyldJ

— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) August 4, 2020

Groome, who was once regarded as having the “best HS curveballs” ESPN’s Keith Law had ever seen, needs time to log innings and get the reps according to Abbott.

“It’s been a long time since he’s been out on the mound in a consistent manner,” he said. “He has to go through some normal pitching pains that when you get taxed and you pitch in a game with effort and you get a little soreness the next day and you’ve got to throw a side being sore and you get in a game, that’s going to be a little bit of a learning curve for him because he hasn’t done it in a long time. And then to see how he pitches against Triple-A hitters, big-league hitters. It’s going to be good for him and also give us kind of a strategy or an approach to see what we need to do for him to take the next step. “