UPDATED RESEARCH - 2023 Draft Prospect - 2B - LuJames Groover

 LuJames Groover 

2B                      North Carolina State 

2022 NC State stat line - 57-G, 236-AB, .364, 10-HR 

 

10-19-22 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2022/1/15/2023-mlb-draft-prospects-fx4td?s=03 - 

64 IF

LuJames Groover III

North Carolina State

"Gino" Groover can hit. He can really, really hit. And he's only going to get better. After tearing things up at Charlotte, he transferred to NC State where the bat has forced itself into an anchor role, rotating around 1B, 2B and 3B. Groover produces huge exit velocities without sacrificing his approach at the plate. 

He keeps his strikeouts low, though he's in no rush whatsoever to draw any walks either. 

The next step in Groover's development will be lifting the ball with more frequency. Right now, he blisters the ball on the ground and scorches line drives up the middle, occasionally pummeling a ball over the fence. Turning that raw power into plus game power is his next bucket.

 

10-16-22 - 2023 MLB Draft: an early look at the ACC

http://dugoutedgebaseball.blogspot.com/2022/10/2023-mlb-draft-early-look-at-acc.html?m=1&s=03 - 

10. 2B/IF LuJames Groover, North Carolina State.

Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'2", 210 lbs. Born 4/16/2002. Hometown: Morrow, GA.

2022: 10 HR, .364/.440/.568, 4 SB, 44/28 K/BB in 57 games.

There is a saying that hitters hit, and that certainly applies to LuJames Groover. He began his career at Charlotte but transferred after one season to NC State, where he was one of their best hitters and figures to be the centerpiece in the Wolfpack lineup now with Tommy White off to LSU. 

Groover is a professional hitter through and through, one who makes contact as consistently and with as much authority as anybody in the conference. He struck out just 16.1% of the time in 2022 while producing high exit velocities, meaning lots of scorching grounders and screaming line drives. That's the Atlanta-area product's approach for now, with a flat swing geared towards those hard line drives that helped him hit .364 at NC State and previously .351 as a freshman at Charlotte. 

Though he doesn't have much loft in his right handed swing, he can turn on the ball when he needs to and finds such a high volume of barrels that he did run into ten home runs last year, and he has a chance at above average power in pro ball if he decides to make that a larger part of his game. Given his innate feel for hitting, he should be able to if he wants to. Defensively, Groover is more of a question mark. 

He appeared at first base, second base, and both corner outfield spots for NC State last year and hasn't really turned heads at any of them, so barring positive developments on that front, the pressure will be on his bat. He's a decent athlete that can handle himself around the diamond, but his best case scenario is as a bat-first second baseman and there's a chance he ends up at first base for good.