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Towns of every size roll out the balls and bats every Summer, mow the grass at the ball fields, and give millions of young kids the chance to become the next Pee Wee Reese, Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela, Kirk Gibson or Chris Taylor.
Baseball is more than just a game., it‘s an idea, an institution, a dream, and just simply a way of life for so many. But, no form of art can ever match real life and when someone writes their own story about their own American dream, nothing can compare to that.
Michael Grove, a Right-Handed pitcher in the Dodgers organization, wrote his own story last year when he made his MLB debut, and is ready for the next chapter, his MLB career.
American Dream
Grove grew up in Wheeling West Virginia, a smaller slice of America that gives off a “Friday Night Lights” feel. In fact, it’s rumored that the town shut down when Michael made his debut, and everyone stopped to watch him pitch.
Kids that grow up in Wheeling learn small town values, grow to appreciate everything that has gone into making them who they are, and it helps people like Michael Grove stay grounded, understand the importance of giving back and to always take pride in what they call “home”.
Grove was a star at his Hometown High School, Wheeling Park, and stayed local by choosing West Virginia University for his College career, so his roots run deep.
As a Junior in High School, Grove led his Patriots to the state Semifinals underneath the Guidance of his legendary Head Coach Mike McLeod. McLeod is a Wheeling park High School alum that decided to come home and give back to his community. Many people in the Wheeling Community think that McLeod is the greatest athlete ever to walk the halls as a Patriot, but, while that may be great talk for the water cooler, one thing that is a total consensus is that McLeod is a coach that changes lives.
McLeod has always believed in building relationships and has mastered the art of helping young kids grow up to be successful adults, something that Grove has done several times over.
On the Field
Michael Grove’s amateur career was one that had a long list of accomplishments. In High School he posted a 1.20 ERA, hit .488, was named to the West Virginia Sport’s Writers Association All Star team in 2 consecutive years, was named the 2014 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and was ranked as the #2 player in West Virginia by Prep baseball report as a Senior.
At West Virginia, as a Freshman, he was named to the All Big 12 Honorable Mention team, and then also named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
He pitched in several roles and made 7 starts and was turning into one of the better prospects in the Big 12.
His Sophomore year started successfully but then halfway through the year the dreaded Tommy John struck. Grove was forced to shut it down and had to miss the remainder of that year and then all of his Junior year.
Here’s what he had to say about that process.
I’m sure for everybody they’ll tell you the timing was bad and it was for me as well, not being able to put an entire year of Sophomore tape together. And then missing your entire Junior year from a team perspective is demoralizing because I wanted to be out there competing and playing with my teammates.
Despite missing the back half of his Sophomore year and all of his Junior year the Dodgers still drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2018 Draft. He was considered a 2nd or 3rd round talent before his injury and Tommy John Surgery is not something that scares the Dodgers organization away. In fact, many, if not most of the Dodgers recent pitching prospects have had Tommy John and it’s something that Billy Gasparino, the Dodgers director of amateur scouting, felt comfortable with when they drafted Grove.
“We feel very comfortable and confident in our player development and medical staff’s ability to get these pitchers back to where they were,” said Billy Gasparino, the Dodgers’ director of amateur scouting. “The Walker Buehler example is a good one, and we hope to repeat it with Grove.”
So, while Grove didn’t get to pitch during the second half of his Sophomore year or his entire Junior year at West Virginia, the Dodgers still drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2018 draft.
Professional Career
Grove started his Dodgers career not having pitched in over a year in a real game and spent the remainder of the 2018 season, after being drafted, with the Arizona League Dodgers. Then, after pitching with High A Rancho Cucamonga in 2019, the Minor League season was cancelled in 2020, so coming into 2021 he had only 1 season of pitching under his belt since his Sophomore year of College.
Trying to pitch at the Minor League level is tough enough, but trying to do it with the stops and starts that Grove had to begin his Professional career complicated things in multiples of infinity.
So, when evaluating his performance and potential during that period, it was vital that statistics and numbers weren’t the metrics to judge him by.
He has always had +++ stuff and got more and more consistent as 2021 progressed.
Here’s what he had to say about working his way through the first couple of years as a professional.
Tommy John is what it is, I missed a lot of time there, but the Covid one really was frustrating for me because I had played a full year since my Tommy John Surgery, and I was supposed to be let off the leash in 2020 and get up to a normal pitch count and that ended up not happening. I spent some time at the Alternate site but it’s not the same because it gets to be a little ground hog day like as you face the same hitters everyday, and you don’t get the same kind of adrenaline bump as you would in a real game.
The Dodgers always saw the talent and potential and knew that, when he got to string a couple years together to knock the rust off, he had the potential to be really really good, and is a Major League talent.
That was proven last year.
MLB Caliber Stuff
Grove sat 94 with his fastball last year, and paired that with a curveball and slider. He’s always had the big curveball, but added the slider last year and is tinkering with it in the off season to give him a “put away” pitch.
I realized that I was really good at getting to 2 strikes by dumping a curveball with my fastball, but when I got to 2 strikes, I didn’t fell like I had good “put away” pitches.
Grove continued
That’s part of the reason I tinkered with the slider a little bit was because I need a pitch that is different that I don’t have to show until 2 strikes, or that just has more swing and miss to it.
One of the things that gives him the potential to be not only unique, but also elite is how athletic he is in using his motion to locate his pitches. Most pitchers use their landing spot to locate the ball. In other words, if they want to locate a pitch on the outside part of the plate to a right handed hitter they land their foot on the first base side of the rubber. If they want to locate a pitch on the inside part of the plate to a right hander they land on the 3rd base side of the rubber.
Grove, however, is athletic enough to not have to do this.
Here is a side by side of 2 pitches from Grove.
The picture on the left is Grove throwing a fastball on the outside part of the plate and the picture on the right is of him throwing a fastball that is up and in.
Notice that everything is literally identical in these 2 pictures. His front foot has landed in the exact same spot, his spine angle as well as his head positioning, hips, chest and then his arm slot is virtually identical on both pitches.
So, there is absolutely no tip offs to the hitter as to the location of the pitch. When you sit 94, and can hit higher than that, this can be deceptive, and it gives the hitter no time to react as you see in this video.
Grove also throws a 12-6 curveball that works real well off of the deception, location and velocity of his fastball.
Grove’s fastball/curveball combination is very good, but he also features a sinking changeup. He didn’t throw it at the MLB level, but he did throw it with AAA OKC last year. Here’s a look at that pitch.
The next picture is a side by side of Grove’s fastball and changeup. The picture on the left is Grove throwing a fastball and the picture on the right is of his changeup. Notice that, again, everything is identical and that there is absolutely nothing for the hitter to pick up to tip the pitch.
Adding to the idea of Grove having combinations of pitches that work together, he also has a combination of ways he can get ahead of hitters. You’ve seen how he locates his fastball, but he also has a round house breaking ball that he uses as a strike pitch as well.
Grove has a fastball that sits 94, 2 different types of breaking balls, a change up, and a motion that makes his pitches unidentifiable. He can get ahead in the count with multiple pitches and is trying to finish his arsenal by adding a pitch that can induce “swing and miss” at the MLB level.
All of this potential is why the Dodgers put him on the 40 man, somewhat surprisingly to Dodgers fans, and why he will continue to excel if given enough chances. He has a lot to offer!
Model of a Role Model
Grove is the typical Dodger. Very grounded, very humble, but also extremely talented, ultra confident and is a great athlete with a multi sport background. He possesses more talent than most kids will every have, but, at the same time, still represents what every kid can be, because he made himself through hard work, and is loyal and appreciative of everyone that has helped along the way.
At such a young age he has already learned to give back to those that had a hand in his success along his journey. But, now it’s time for him to take, take off that is, and to keep making his dreams of being an MLB pitcher happen.
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