It would be hilarious if Dombrowski actually started those rumors, although that doesn't really seem like his M.O.
I have yet to read anything specific on that subject so I'm assuming it's just a bunch of silly bullshit until proven otherwise.
If it's really bullshit then you could have him and Espinoza as our two best pitchers in the minors in 12 months. How insane would that be? Two dudes who can't buy beer for another three years
The rumors started last summer, suspension was early this season.
I don't think if you have say, the 5th pick in the draft that you pass on a dude who is a potential top of the rotation lefty without some meat on those rumor bones
There's also the signability issues, which may be a bigger factor than make-up. But yeah, you never know. Especially with 17 year olds, who are.....young. Fingers crossed.
His agent was asking for 4 million. Slot doesn't get down under 4 million until the 7th pick. His price tag may explain why the handful of teams ahead of the Sox didn't grab him, but it doesn't explain why he dropped from the top of the draft through the first 7 or 8 picks. I don't buy into the makeup issues since there is nothing specific being mentioned by anyone who points to it, but something was definitely pushing his draft stock down.
I think this is a good take. IMG is a very serious sports-first "high school". I did some work with IMG+Gatorade. It seems to be run like a pro program (which is why our testing ground for pros was IMG), but with school too.
All the slot values are listed by Jim Callis here. The 12th pick is worth $3,192,800. With 5% that takes the pick value to $3,352,440.
Well, it comes from MLB personnel murmuring about "makeup." So it's all a bit cloaked in secrecy, since nobody divulged any details, and there's a decent chance it's absolutely nothing. But at least some people believe something about him that made them hold off. The speculation above about not working hard or something seems as plausible as anything else. It also seems like something not to worry about.
Wouldn't he have been five years old during in Pedro's last season? At least Manny hung around until he was eight or nine.
Yeah I don't know about Pedro, but his family is all Yankees fans, so the 03/04 ALCS would've probably been a big deal in his household. I was 8 in '86 and that season hooked me on the Sox. I'd already been "into" baseball for a few years at least.
I don't know a ton, but it seemed pretty great to me. As a fellow LHP (who had ridiculously bad mechanics, so take this for what it's worth, which is nothing), I think Groome's stiff lead leg is probably something to work on. His stride length is great, but I don't think he'll make it to MLB stopping his momentum around his lead leg that way. As an older guy it hurts my knees to see him land and put so much force into it like that, but he's young and it's fine for now. Plenty of time to fix that. Upper body looks great. I wish I had that kind of shoulder/scapular flexibility.
Yes, as well as the concern that a check for $4 million could magnify the alleged issues.
Being able to sign him is an issue. If being a Sox fan contributes in any way, even at the extreme margin, to making him easier to sign, it's a good thing.
They're probably not giving specifics what causes the maturity concerns because he's a kid in high school, but pretending guys like Law and Callis are just making it up is crazy. A guy who is generally considered one of the top two picks falls to twelve, and every reporter says there's a maturity concern that caused him to fall...pretending there's not something there seems like wishful thinking. Hopefully, whatever the issue is, it was a one time thing or stops being a problem as he matures.
Six. My kid is the same age (and a pitcher) and is a huge Pedro fan but you're right, he was too young to really appreciate him. Manny was his real favorite. He remembers '07 much better than '04.
I agree with this. It seems like pretending there is not something there based on no facts is also a SoSh trait as well. I am firmly in the camp of "who cares" though, you take the risk at #12 on a top talent like this and hope the kid matures and becomes a major leaguer.
I agree. If we're engaging in speculation, a kid who went away to school for his junior year and then brought back for his senior year sounds like a potential party problem.
He's 18 fucking years old. I wonder what my scouting report looked like at 18. "Lawyer?!!!! Bwhahahahahaha. Prison lawyer, maybe."
You have your whole life to get it together.
Isn't the most likely outcome of any pick that it amounts to nothing, especially outside of the early first round? If the chance of failure is inherent in every pick, why would you pass on a potential ace for the chance to sign a slightly more robust set of guys that will probably never sniff more than a cup of coffee?
