Jay Groome is making changes to become a more effective pitcher, and everything seems to be working after Tommy John surgery and the COVID-19 pandemic limited him from 2018 to 2020.
The Boston Red Sox prospect pitched just four innings during that span, but Groome has bounced back nicely in 2021 in his two starts with the Portland Sea Dogs. The 2016 first-round pick has 19 strikeouts across 11 innings at Double-A and has yet to allow a run.
These stats are much different than the beginning of the season when he gave up 15 runs in his first five appearances in May with High-A Greenville.
So, what changed?
"I started really getting into a groove where I was attacking the strike zone," Groome recently told MassLive's Christopher Smith. "At the beginning of the year, I think I had almost 20 walks in less than 15 innings. It was something crazy like that."
"Every bullpen has been so intense. I'm trying to make it as game-like as possible. ... Clearly it's helping me because all my pitches, I can throw them any time I want. It's just the work that I'm putting in is finally paying off. From the results that I'm getting, it's nice knowing that when I throw my pitches in the zone, good things happen."
Using all of his pitches, against both lefties and righties, certainly will be beneficial when the time comes for his big league call-up. And if he can continue to build on the success he's recently had, then he'll be a welcome addition to a Red Sox rotation that currently includes the likes of Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi.
