Red Sox top pitching prospect Jason Groome set to undergo Tommy John surgery

NEW YORK – Jason Groome, the Red Sox top-ranked pitching prospect and first-round pick from the 2016 draft, is set to undergo Tommy John surgery either later this week or early next week according to a baseball source, further setting back a career that has been limited by a series of injuries.

Groome saw his 2017 season shortened by a flexor strain in his elbow last August, began this regular season on the disabled list with the same issue. He also spent time on the DL last year with an intercostal strain.

The lefty, who was taken 12th overall in the 2016 draft, has struggled to get his professional career on track because of a number of physical setbacks. He appeared fully recovered in spring training, averaging two strikeouts per inning against minor league hitters.



"It's just awesome to feel healthy again,'' Groome told the Boston Globe at the time, "just going out there and knowing I'm going to be able to pitch again in five days.''

But that optimism didn't last for long. By the time the season began, Groome was again experiencing discomfort in the forearm and elbow area and was placed on the DL. A month later, he still hasn't thrown an inning for Single A Greenville, where he was scheduled to begin the season.

He's set to have the procedure done by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles. Typical recovery time for pitchers runs anywhere from 15 to 18 months. With shorter minor league seasons,  it's unlikely Groome pitches competitively much before 2020.

Groome was a somewhat controversial figure at the time of the 2016 draft and he dropped to No. 12, where the Sox were sitting. There were concerns about his makeup and signability issues. The Sox gave him a $3.65 million signing bonus, the largest the club had ever given to a drafted player.

The Sox have been touting Groome and fellow righty Tanner Houck, the organization's No. 1 pick last June, as the potential foundation of future rotations, hopeful that the two can develop and give the Red Sox some homegrown starters going forward. The team has notoriously struggled to develop starting pitchers, with Clay Buchholz the last starter developed by the organization to record a season with double-figures in wins.