Arizona Diamondbacks No.5 Prospect LuJames “Gino” Groover Still Adjusting To Demanding Minor League Schedule

Arizona Diamondbacks No.5 Prospect LuJames “Gino” Groover Still Adjusting To Demanding Minor League Schedule

by | May 2, 2024 | THE THREE SPOT

When the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted infielder LuJames “Gino” Groover it was all about his ability to make good, consistent with his bat.

 

While starring at N.C. State Groover displayed an uncanny ability to consistently make contact with the baseball. In his junior season (2023) for the Wolfpack, the 6-foot-2 and 215 pounder’s bat stood out.

 

He batted .332 with 13 homers, 50 RBI, 76 hits, 48 runs scored while securing 125 total bases. He also hit safely in 45 of the Wolfpack’s 57 games that season, while reaching base safely in 55 of the 57 games. Groover also tallied 25 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games as well.

 

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Those numbers were enough for the Diamondbacks to take him in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Groover spent his rookie season between three teams, the club’s rookie affiliates (Diamondbacks Red and Black) before ending the season at High-A Hillsboro.

 

Groover’s bat is still blazing. In a little over a season and 31 games, Groover is batting .296 with 17 RBI and six doubles. Hitting has never been an issue, and likely never will be, but he did reveal that the biggest adjustment from college to the pro has been the demanding schedule.

Groover Dealing With Much More Demanding Both Mentally And Physically

 

In college, teams typically play 3-4 games per week, that’s not the case in the minors where teams play every day except Monday, pretty much doubling the number of games played in a week.

 

In an interview during spring training Groover talked to reporters about the magnitude of the adjustment.

 

“Just adjusting to that period I think was the hardest thing, playing how many more games. Taking care of your body, making sure you’re prepared and getting proper rest. You’re on the road, living in the hotel for six nights. When I first got to High-A, we had back-to-back road trips, so I was like OK this is already different. As you are prepared, you take care of yourself, everything will take care of itself.”

 

 

 

Groover Also Seeing Time At First Base

 

With an estimated 2026 arrival to the majors, Groover has time to work out the kinks in his game which right now has him focused on third base (the hot corner). But team brass also has him learning first base as a way to give them more flexibility with their infielders.

 

The defending National League champions have a very, young, and talented roster in place for years to come, and Groover is definitely a chess-piece they’d like to use in a variety of ways. If anyone is capable of doing it, it’s Groover who’s about as even-keeled and prepared as you’ll find for a second-year pro.

“You Hear The Term A Lot About Being A Low-Maintenance Stroke” | D-Backs Sign Second-Round Pick LuJames “Gino” Groover

“You Hear The Term A Lot About Being A Low-Maintenance Stroke” | D-Backs Sign Second-Round Pick LuJames “Gino” Groover

by | Jul 20, 2023 | THE THREE SPOT

The 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks are playing some good ball thus far this season, sitting at a respectable (53-42) which is good enough for third in the NL West, and just two games behind the division leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

 

In last week’s MLB Draft out in Seattle, the D-Backs added whom they believe is their future third baseman, when they chose NC State Wolfpack star LuJames “Gino” Groover with the No.48 overall selection.

 

 

On Monday the team announced it had signed Groover, locking him up for the foreseeable future.

 

The pick wasn’t really all that surprising because of Groover’s bat and consistently developing defensive skills. The former Wolfpack star is fresh off a season where he carried a .976 OPS along with 13 home runs in 57 games for the Pack. It was good enough to earn him All-ACC third-team honors, and it helped catapult him into the majors.

 

His development on defense also played a role in why the D-Backs were intrigued, as Groover showed marked improvement at third base where he started 56 of his 57 games played in 2023. But, at the end of the day it’s his bat and how smooth he is at the plate that sets him apart.

 

Groover Was Great In NCAA Tournament

One season after the Wolfpack were snubbed out of an NCAA Tournament berth, they clinched a No.3 seed. In the tourney, Groover went 4-12 with two homers in the three games, showing off his power at the plate.

 

 

That, plus his plate discipline and ability to spray the ball to all parts of the field were too intriguing for the D-Backs to pass up. According to the team’s director of amateur scouting, Ian Rebhan, Groover’s approach at the plate is definitely something that caught the eye of the D-Backs.

 

Here’s what he told reporters about the pick.

 

“You hear the term a lot about being a low-maintenance stroke,” Rebhan said. “When you get into pro ball, you’re facing really good competition, I think those things matter. It’s the simplicity and the contact skills and the way the ball comes off the bat. I think there’s a chance for power there, too.”

 

D-Backs Continue Influx Of Young Talent

 

With their first-round pick, the D-Backs chose Stanford infielder Tommy Troy, No.12 overall. Troy and Groover are the latest on a list of talented young players over the last 4-5 drafts. That list includes Corbin Carroll (2019), MLBbro Alek Thomas (2018), Jake McCarthy (2018), Ryan Nelson (2019), and Tommy Henry (2019).

 

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Coming into the 2023 season the D-Backs farm system was ranked No.3 by MLB Pipeline, thanks in part to MLB Draft picks last year, Druw Jones (No.2), Landon Sims (No.34) and Ivan Melendez (No.43). Adding Troy and Groover should only help strengthen that high ranking.