Report: The Phillies Will Not Select Barnegat’s Jason Groome

As the MLB draft draws closer, the Phillies have been doing their due diligence in scouting.  One of the potential top draft choices, Barnegat High School's Jason Groome, has long been considered one of the potential number one overall picks.  The Phillies now reportedly will not be selecting Groome with their number one overall pick.

Keith Law of ESPN reported on the Baseball Tonight podcast the Phillies are looking elsewhere:

"The Phillies haven't really decided what they're going to do," Law said. "They're down to what appears to be five players. The one interesting thing this is they appear to be out on Jason Groome, who is the local left-handed pitcher from Barnegat, New Jersey, who's one of the best players in the draft. I think the main thing for the Phillies is they just don't want to take a high school pitcher at the top."

That means the Phillies could go for pitcher A.J. Puk or outfielder Kyle Lewis of Mercer University in Georgia.

The 2016 MLB Draft will occur June 9.