17u WWBA Day 5 notes

Editor's note: Perfect Game recognizes that there are dozens of standout performers at this year's 17u WWBA National Championship. The thoughts provided below are first-hand observations from Scouting Coordinator Jheremy Brown during the event's fifth day.

A player that was well known this spring in the Northeast, but not too well on the national scene, Jason Groome (2016, Barnegat, N.J.) has become an household names amongst colleges now after his two starts down south in the last two weeks. Standing at 6-foot-5, 180-pounds, the lefthanded Groome projects extremely well with his long, lean limbs and he is young for the 2016 class, still only 15 years old.

In the first inning Groome came out firing, working 90-92 mph with his fastball, topping 93, with only one pitch below 90, an 88 mph two-seamer. What’s even more impressive than the velocity though is the ease he is able to generate, looking as though he is playing catch on flat ground. Using his height well to create downhill plane on his fastball, Groome will be able to not only pound the lower quadrants more once he lengthens his stride, but will throw harder too. The ball comes out of his hand cleanly with no effort and cruised through his seven innings, filling up the strike zone with his fastball which sat 87-89 mph throughout with occasional run to his arm side and still bumping 90-91 when he needed it.

He was missing bat with his four-seamer in yesterday’s game as well as with his other pitches, but when the ball was put in play, the majority of them resulted in ground ball contact. Groome’s knuckle curve is his go to off-speed pitch, showing depth and bite when he stays on top, throwing the pitch between 74-77 mph. His changeup has been a developing pitch over the course of the high school season and into the summer, but he flashed a couple of them yesterday and showed fade to his arm side while maintaining his slot and arm speed, throwing it at 77 mph.




If there is one thing that T.J. Collett (2016, Terre Haute, Ind.) does on a consistent basis at Perfect Game tournaments it’s hit for power. After driving the ball out of LakePoint two days ago, Collett did it again, jumping on a pitch and sending it over the right field field at the East Cobb Complex.

A switch-hitter, John Aiello (2015, Lansdale, Pa.) dug in righthanded for his at-bats yesterday while facing Daniel Lynch, a lefthanded pitcher detailed just below. Aiello, a Wake Forrest commit, showed a smooth swing from the right side, his natural side, and hit the ball hard twice to his pull side, picking up a couple base hits.