The Boston Red Sox made their first selection in the 2016 MLB Draft on Thursday night and they took high school lefty Jason Groome at 12th overall.

https://youtu.be/IblLwxW4v34

Groome is a lefthanded pitcher from Barnegat High School in New Jersey and was listed going into the draft as the third best player in the Baseball America 500 (behind AJ Puk and Riley Pint).  Many mock drafts had Groome going as high as number three overall before he fell to Boston at number twelve.  The pitcher is viewed as a high risk player according to Baseball America, but may have the best pure pitching talent in the entire draft.  Groome has a 96 mile per hour fastball and had a 19 strikeout no-hitter playing in New Jersey before he had to sit out 30 days from improper transfer rules.  Scouts also say that he possesses a tight curveball and has drawn parallels to LA Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.

The biggest concern among MLB franchises is the money he wants to sign to go pro.  The 17-year old recently switched his college commitment from a junior college to Vanderbilt in the lead up to the draft.

https://youtu.be/Sfs7UcQ8u10

The last two times the Sox selected at pick number twelve, they took shortstops Adam Everett and Nomar Garciaparra.

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