August 10, 2022

Arizona Diamondbacks minor league pitcher Gunnar Groen is a very interesting player. Already 25 years old, he didn't appear in affiliated ball until the Diamondbacks purchased his contract in June this year. He's also a U.K. export, though he played his college ball at Pepperdine. In his final collegiate season, he struggled to the tune of a 7.15 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 6.95 K/9, and 5.76 BB/9. However, he has a good baseball profile, checking in at 6-foot-6 with a fastball that touched 96.3 mph. Since making the jump to Minor League Baseball, he has induced ground balls at an impressive clip while also bringing his strikeout rate to a much higher mark than he established in college. The D-backs have used Groen out of the bullpen with their Arizona Complex League affiliate this season. He made two outings this past week, totaling zero runs, zero walks, one hit, and eight strikeouts over five innings of work. His better of the two appearances came last Tuesday when he struck out five batters over two perfect innings. Given his advanced age and relatively underwhelming resume, Groen may never reach the upper levels of affiliated ball. Nevertheless, he is a cool story and certainly produced some impressive numbers over the last seven days.--Andersen Pickard - RotoBaller
Source: FanGraphs