Even though C. J. Chatham had been told minutes earlier that his dream of playing baseball professionally was about to come true, the FAU shortstop needed to see it become official.
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Barnegat High School pitcher Jason Groome, 17, was projected during the spring to be the top overall pick during the Major League Baseball draft.
The Red Sox farm system is fairly deep, though mostly loaded with bats. With that being said, let me make a quick pitch to the first-rounder on why he should sign. “I still didn’t believe it”.
Oh, and finally, the Red Sox have won three championships since 2004.
Chatham is the 83rd Owls player to get drafted since the program’s inception in 1981.
“All I’m telling you is a kid who was supposed to be No. 1 in the draft slipped to No. 12. I couldn’t ask for anything more than that”.
It’s always tricky with Vanderbilt commits, but Groome went high enough and is headed for a big enough bonus that he’ll nearly certainly be starting his pro career.
“He exceeded my expectations”, FAU coach John McCormack said.
Shawaryn set five school records during his time at Maryland, including career wins (30), career strikeouts (307), career innings pitched (307.1), single season wins (13) and single season strikeouts (138). “I’m so comfortable because they’re my favorite team”.
“It’s a insane feeling hearing my name called, especially by the Red Sox, ” said Groome, who is a Red Sox fan, on a conference call.
“I’ve just taken them as my best team”, Groome said.
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After several other top high school pitching prospects – Ian Anderson, Riley Pint, Braxton Garrett and Matt Manning – were drafted by the Atlanta Braves (No. 3), Colorado Rockies (No. 4), Miami Marlins (No. 7) and Detroit Tigers (No. 9), respectively, MLB Network analysts had a lengthy discussion about Groome, openly questioning why the Barnegat star was not selected among the top-10 picks. He led the team in hitting (.357), slugging percentage (.554) and on-base percentage (.422). The selection completed an unlikely turnaround for Chatham, who was lightly recruited out of American Heritage. The Cincinnati Reds then selected University of Tennessee third baseman Nick Senzel. But his parents maintained their home in Barnegat and he returned.
