Michael Grove

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #18 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Grove looked like a future first-round pick as an underclassman at West Virginia but had Tommy John surgery midway through his sophomore year and missed all of his junior year as well. The Dodgers bet on his pre-injury stuff and drafted him in the second round in 2018, signing him for $1,229,500. Grove's velocity and command took four years to fully come back, but he finally clicked in 2022 at Double-A and Triple-A and earned his first big league callup in May. He went 1-0, 4.60 in seven appearances for the Dodgers and took regular rotation turns at the end of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Grove is a strong, athletic righthander who flashes big stuff. His fastball has plus velocity at 94-97 mph, but it plays down because it's straight and he lacks consistent command of it. He shows feel to spin an average mid-80s slider with decent depth and his upper-70s curveball flashes above-average. Grove has feel to manipulate the length and shape of his breaking balls, giving them bigger shape early in counts before shortening them to get swings and misses to put hitters away. Grove doesn't throw a changeup, leaving him vulnerable against lefties, and his control is fringy. His fastball command is particularly inconsistent and leads to widely varied quality of his outings.
  
  The Future: Grove projects to be a spot starter and long reliever who can handle righthanded-heavy lineups. He is ready to assume that role now and will try to win an Opening Day roster spot.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 50. Control: 45
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #24 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Grove looked like a future first-round pick as an underclassman at West Virginia, but he had Tommy John surgery during his sophomore year and missed his entire junior season as well. The Dodgers still drafted him in the second round and gave him an above-slot $1,229,500 bonus. Grove’s stuff took three years to return, but it finally happened at Double-A Tulsa in 2021. Even though he showed poor control and posted a 7.86 ERA, the Dodgers still added him to their 40-man roster after the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Grove rebuilt himself into a power pitcher and now possesses the most imposing stuff of his career. He generates 94-97 mph fastballs that touch 99 as a starter with little effort out of his strong, athletic delivery. He complements his heater with a hard slider at 86-89 mph and a power curveball at 78-81 mph that both have downer action and get swings and misses. While everything looks good on paper, Grove’s fastball is straight and he tends to leave it over the plate, where it gets crushed, and he lacks a soft offering to keep batters from gearing up. His uptick in stuff has also come with a downgrade in his control, which is now below-average and prevents him from lasting long in his starts.
  
  The Future: The Dodgers hope Grove’s stuff will play in relief moving forward. His transition to the bullpen may come in 2022.
  
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #25 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: Grove missed most of 2017 and all of 2018 at West Virginia after having Tommy John surgery, but the Dodgers still drafted him in the second round based on the stuff he showed before he went down. Grove returned to the mound in 2019 at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga and struggled to a 6.10 ERA with diminished stuff and limited durability. His stuff ticked up in his second year back and he impressed at the alternate training site.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Grove is a good athlete with a fast arm and is starting to rediscover his pre-surgery form. After sitting 89-93 mph over two-inning stints in 2019, Grove began holding 92-95 mph over four-inning stints at the alternate site in 2020. He also began to regain the feel for his upper-70s, downer curveball. Grove focused on developing his 80-84 mph, vertical slider and nascent mid-80s changeup at the alternate site. His slider showed flashes of above-average potential and his changeup started tunneling well off his fastball. Grove throws strikes, but his effortful delivery and injury history raise questions about his durability.
  
  THE FUTURE: Grove has to show he can maintain his best stuff over a full season. He'll try to do that in 2021.
• 
  Ranked Los Angeles Dodgers #18 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Grove was shaping up as a possible future first-rounder his sophomore year at West Virginia, but he blew out his elbow in his ninth start and had Tommy John surgery, causing him to miss the rest of 2017 and all of 2018. The Dodgers saw enough when Grove was healthy to believe in him and drafted him in the second round, No. 68 overall.
  
  Scouting Report: Grove enticed before his injury as a superb athlete with two potential plus pitches. He has pristine pitchers body at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and is athletic and explosive in his delivery. When healthy, Grove's fastball sat an easy 93-96 mph with excellent carry through the upper third of the strike zone. His 85-86 mph power slider with vertical drop tunneled well off his fastball, giving him a second plus offering. Grove rarely threw a changeup in college, so the Dodgers put him in a changeup development camp to try different grips and see what works.
  
  The Future: Grove's stuff wasn't quite back yet in instructs, but he is expected to be ready by Opening Day. If everything comes back, he has mid-rotation potential.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #271 prospect in 2018 draft
  Grove was shaping up to be a priority follow this year as he showed a mid-rotation caliber arm for West Virginia last season before he blew out his elbow in his ninth start of the season. He hasn't pitched in a game this year as he recovers, but pre-injury he was blowing away hitters with a 93-96 mph fastball and a plus breaking ball with above-average control. Grove's injury status makes him a true wild card for the draft, but a team willing to take a chance could end up landing a second/third round talent in a later round.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Grove looked like a future first-round pick as an underclassman at West Virginia but had Tommy John surgery midway through his sophomore year and missed all of his junior year as well. The Dodgers bet on his pre-injury stuff and drafted him in the second round in 2018, signing him for $1,229,500. Grove's velocity and command took four years to fully come back, but he finally clicked in 2022 at Double-A and Triple-A and earned his first big league callup in May. He went 1-0, 4.60 in seven appearances for the Dodgers and took regular rotation turns at the end of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Grove is a strong, athletic righthander who flashes big stuff. His fastball has plus velocity at 94-97 mph, but it plays down because it's straight and he lacks consistent command of it. He shows feel to spin an average mid-80s slider with decent depth and his upper-70s curveball flashes above-average. Grove has feel to manipulate the length and shape of his breaking balls, giving them bigger shape early in counts before shortening them to get swings and misses to put hitters away. Grove doesn't throw a changeup, leaving him vulnerable against lefties, and his control is fringy. His fastball command is particularly inconsistent and leads to widely varied quality of his outings.
  
  The Future: Grove projects to be a spot starter and long reliever who can handle righthanded-heavy lineups. He is ready to assume that role now and will try to win an Opening Day roster spot.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 50. Control: 45
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Grove looked like a future first-round pick as an underclassman at West Virginia but had Tommy John surgery midway through his sophomore year and missed all of his junior year as well. The Dodgers bet on his pre-injury stuff and drafted him in the second round in 2018, signing him for $1,229,500. Grove's velocity and command took four years to fully come back, but he finally clicked in 2022 at Double-A and Triple-A and earned his first big league callup in May. He went 1-0, 4.60 in seven appearances for the Dodgers and took regular rotation turns at the end of the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Grove is a strong, athletic righthander who flashes big stuff. His fastball has plus velocity at 94-97 mph, but it plays down because it's straight and he lacks consistent command of it. He shows feel to spin an average mid-80s slider with decent depth and his upper-70s curveball flashes above-average. Grove has feel to manipulate the length and shape of his breaking balls, giving them bigger shape early in counts before shortening them to get swings and misses to put hitters away. Grove doesn't throw a changeup, leaving him vulnerable against lefties, and his control is fringy. His fastball command is particularly inconsistent and leads to widely varied quality of his outings.
  
  The Future: Grove projects to be a spot starter and long reliever who can handle righthanded-heavy lineups. He is ready to assume that role now and will try to win an Opening Day roster spot.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Curveball: 55. Slider: 50. Control: 45
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 40/Medium
  
  Track Record: Grove looked like a future first-round pick as an underclassman at West Virginia, but he had Tommy John surgery during his sophomore year and missed his entire junior season as well. The Dodgers still drafted him in the second round and gave him an above-slot $1,229,500 bonus. Grove&#39s stuff took three years to return, but it finally happened at Double-A Tulsa in 2021. Even though he showed poor control and posted a 7.86 ERA, the Dodgers still added him to their 40-man roster after the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Grove rebuilt himself into a power pitcher and now possesses the most imposing stuff of his career. He generates 94-97 mph fastballs that touch 99 as a starter with little effort out of his strong, athletic delivery. He complements his heater with a hard slider at 86-89 mph and a power curveball at 78-81 mph that both have downer action and get swings and misses. While everything looks good on paper, Grove&#39s fastball is straight and he tends to leave it over the plate, where it gets crushed, and he lacks a soft offering to keep batters from gearing up. His uptick in stuff has also come with a downgrade in his control, which is now below-average and prevents him from lasting long in his starts.
  
  The Future: The Dodgers hope Grove&#39s stuff will play in relief moving forward. His transition to the bullpen may come in 2022.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Grove looked like a future first-round pick as an underclassman at West Virginia, but he had Tommy John surgery during his sophomore year and missed his entire junior season as well. The Dodgers still drafted him in the second round and gave him an above-slot $1,229,500 bonus. Grove’s stuff took three years to return, but it finally happened at Double-A Tulsa in 2021. Even though he showed poor control and posted a 7.86 ERA, the Dodgers still added him to their 40-man roster after the season.
  
  Scouting Report: Grove rebuilt himself into a power pitcher and now possesses the most imposing stuff of his career. He generates 94-97 mph fastballs that touch 99 as a starter with little effort out of his strong, athletic delivery. He complements his heater with a hard slider at 86-89 mph and a power curveball at 78-81 mph that both have downer action and get swings and misses. While everything looks good on paper, Grove’s fastball is straight and he tends to leave it over the plate, where it gets crushed, and he lacks a soft offering to keep batters from gearing up. His uptick in stuff has also come with a downgrade in his control, which is now below-average and prevents him from lasting long in his starts.
  
  The Future: The Dodgers hope Grove’s stuff will play in relief moving forward. His transition to the bullpen may come in 2022.
  
• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Grove missed most of 2017 and all of 2018 at West Virginia after having Tommy John surgery, but the Dodgers still drafted him in the second round based on the stuff he showed before he went down. Grove returned to the mound in 2019 at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga and struggled to a 6.10 ERA with diminished stuff and limited durability. His stuff ticked up in his second year back and he impressed at the alternate training site.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Grove is a good athlete with a fast arm and is starting to rediscover his pre-surgery form. After sitting 89-93 mph over two-inning stints in 2019, Grove began holding 92-95 mph over four-inning stints at the alternate site in 2020. He also began to regain the feel for his upper-70s, downer curveball. Grove focused on developing his 80-84 mph, vertical slider and nascent mid-80s changeup at the alternate site. His slider showed flashes of above-average potential and his changeup started tunneling well off his fastball. Grove throws strikes, but his effortful delivery and injury history raise questions about his durability.
  
  THE FUTURE: Grove has to show he can maintain his best stuff over a full season. He'll try to do that in 2021.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: Grove missed most of 2017 and all of 2018 at West Virginia after having Tommy John surgery, but the Dodgers still drafted him in the second round based on the stuff he showed before he went down. Grove returned to the mound in 2019 at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga and struggled to a 6.10 ERA with diminished stuff and limited durability. His stuff ticked up in his second year back and he impressed at the alternate training site.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Grove is a good athlete with a fast arm and is starting to rediscover his pre-surgery form. After sitting 89-93 mph over two-inning stints in 2019, Grove began holding 92-95 mph over four-inning stints at the alternate site in 2020. He also began to regain the feel for his upper-70s, downer curveball. Grove focused on developing his 80-84 mph, vertical slider and nascent mid-80s changeup at the alternate site. His slider showed flashes of above-average potential and his changeup started tunneling well off his fastball. Grove throws strikes, but his effortful delivery and injury history raise questions about his durability.
  
  THE FUTURE: Grove has to show he can maintain his best stuff over a full season. He'll try to do that in 2021.