Gino Groover selected by Diamondbacks in 2nd round of MLB Draft

NC State third baseman Gino Groover is headed out west to begin his professional baseball career, as he was drafted at No. 48 overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday night.

The D-Backs expect that Groover will stick at third base; this is what their scouting director had to say about him yesterday:

“We scouted him a lot [at third],” Rebhan said. “I think he’s a player that had to move around a little bit early in his career. We think he’s a great athlete and we think that the hands, the feet, all those things that we look for, is going to be enough to play third base.”

That might help explain why Groover went a little higher in the draft than anticipated—just in reading through some evaluations prior to the draft, I noticed some skepticism about Groover’s glove. Arizona is confident he just needs more time at the hot corner.

The Diamondbacks don’t have any minor league affiliates in this part of the country, unsurprisingly, but on the bright side, Groover does have a chance to one day call himself an Amarillo Sod Poodle.

The slot value of the No. 48 overall selection is $1.78 million.