Can Trevena revolutionize pain medicine?
Trevena is one of my favorite stock to follow in 2017 for two reasons. As a speculative stock, this investment is Mark Trumbo in that it can either hit a mega bagger home run or strike out four times leaving you with nothing.
This pharma has the ability to change how acute pain medicine is delivered in a way that would have multiple benefits for the human race. Right now opiates dominate the acute pain management world, and opiates have a high addiction rate that creates a whole set of new problems for the patient.
The Trevena product is being touted as not being addictive while at the same time bringing the same level of pain relief, which would differentiate itself from the other acute pain medications currently in use.
Here is the current pipeline of products in various testing stages:
Oliceridine was specifically designed to improve on conventional IV opioid pharmacology, by binding to the same receptor as conventional opioids and selectively activating pain-relieving pathways, while avoiding the pathway associated with opioid-related adverse effects. Based on clinical trial results so far, oliceridine’s profile suggests that it will provide rapid and effective pain relief while potentially setting a new standard for opioid tolerability.
I’m no doctor nor did I sleep at a Holiday Inn but I did enjoy, not understanding how Oliceridine works.
Oliceridine (TRV130) was designed to optimize opioid receptor pharmacology to deliver an improved analgesic profile, and has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA. Oliceridine is the first μ‑receptor G protein pathway selective modulator (μGPS), a biased ligand targeting the μ‑opioid receptor. In preclinical studies, TRV130 activated the mu opioid G protein receptor pathway, in a manner similar to strong opioids such as morphine and fentanyl, and like these drugs oliceridine was a powerful analgesic. Unlike those drugs, in cell‑based studies oliceridine did not engage the β‑arrestin pathway, which has been shown in other preclinical studies to inhibit morphine analgesia and promote mediate morphine‑induced constipation, respiratory depression, and analgesic tolerance(
As an investment, Trevena needs to have several things go right. The clinical trials need to prove successful and that is certainly headed in the right direction. Once that happens the pain drug has to be able to market itself against the opiate based industry. Indications are that the Trevena solution will be more expensive than the currently based morphine applications. Can it do this?
With a current market cap of $350MM, it could have plenty of room to run if things break right. This is a highly speculative investment but one I’m bullish on. In 2016 I sold puts which have a nice premium. Those puts were exercised so now I own the stock at an average price of $5.74 in my 401 and $6.46 in my trading account. It is currently at $6.60. Hopefully, when we check back in one year, it will have crested double digits during the year. Seven analysts follow this stock with six buys and one hold. The highest 12-month trading target is $16.
Sleeping with Under Armour and Tom Brady
Under Armour has announced their pajamas created in conjunction with Tom Brady to get you a better night sleep, so when you slip back to hit your favorite target in the end zone you won’t have those sleep devils troubling your vision.
The six-part Tom Brady system for a better sleep to help you become a better athlete must be the reason why I’ve failed in my quest.
No pets – oops, my two cats and two dogs would feel left out if they weren’t sprawled on the bed. Our dander is in the danger zone.
No noise – not happening, I’m told my dog and I snore in unison
Be consistent with bedtime – the only thing consistent about my bedtime is the inconsistency of my bedtime
Stay Cool – 65 is optimal he says, hey I can do that but my wife can’t.
Wear United Armour Athletic Recovery Sleepwear – I’m on it, $200 for the 15% chance to sleep like Tom Brady has to be worth it.
I love 21st-century technology gobbly gook. This stuff ain’t your grandfathers’ medicine wagon.
Far Infrared is a type of energy on the infrared spectrum that has several benefits for the human body. TB12 technology was developed to harness it even when you’re resting. The soft bioceramic print on the inside of the garment absorbs the body’s
natural heat and reflects Far Infrared back to the skin. This helps your body recover faster, promotes better sleep, reduces inflammation, and regulates cell metabolism.
No reunion with Rubby
Old friend Rubby De La Rosa re-signed with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal this past week. His late season arm issues put a damper on his services but in a winter where pitching is at a premium, I’m still surprised that all he was able to muster was a minor league deal.
De La Rosa will earn $750K upon making the big league roster and also can earn an additional $3.5MM via incentives,
Since he’s going to move to the bullpen I guess the incentives will be games pitched or active days on the roster. The Diamondbacks saved the $3MM he might have made in arbitration, and with this contract only have to pay Rubby the $3.5MM if he earns it compared to getting $3MM in arbitration and possibly suffering from an injury-plagued 2017 season.
If Rubby proves healthy the Diamondbacks will move him to the bullpen, which is probably where he belongs and where I thought he’d bring the most benefit to any team taking a chance on him. When healthy he has the stuff to become a solid bullpen option like many of the ex-starters that have found new life in a bullpen after floundering with success as a starter.
Don’t be surprised if Rubby becomes a solid back-end bullpen option for the Diamondbacks as the season moves along.
We have some answers
Back in November, I asked these questions and while we don’t have all the answers we have a few:
- Will the Dodgers go hard after their free agents since they don’t have any current replacements for either player and both players were at least in the top five at their position? – Yes, they signed all of the main free agents, bringing back Kenley Jansen, Justin Turner, and Rich Hill. This shocked me. I didn’t think they would spend the time and money on Jansen but they did. Turner’s price came down to such a level you had to sign him. Rich Hill was not cheap and once again the Dodgers are counting on a pitcher with a ragged healthy history to be a large part of the rotation.
- If they don’t re-sign Kenley Jansen will his replacement come from within the organization, free agency, or trade? Question became moot
- If they don’t re-sign Justin Turer will his replacement come from within the organization, free agency, or trade? Question became moot
- Will they roll the dice once again with Chase Utley and a platoon partner or look for a full-time second baseman via free agency or trade? Ah, this question is still up in the air. Dozier wasn’t being discussed back in November but he’s been discussed just about every day since the month turned to December.
- Will they show confidence in Puig and once again make him the full-time right fielder, or continue to peddle him as they did this past summer? The buzz on Puig has been quiet so if the Dodgers are trying to move him, they are doing it quietly. We still don’t know if they consider him a full-time right fielder or the platoon player they used in Sept/Oct.
- If they sign Rich Hill, will that be the extent of their moves related to the rotation? They did sign Rich Hill, and that does appear to be the end of their moves for the rotation but that could still change.
- If they don’t sign Rich Hill, will they be searching for another pitcher via free agency or trade? There are no “quality” starters in the free agent market so they can go back end or trade for a high-end starter.They did sign Rich Hill, and that does appear to be the end of their moves for the rotation but that could still change.
- If they go the trade route to fulfill their needs, which prospects will they be willing to let go? One has to assume the Julio Urias is just about untouchable but you never know. Jose De Leon seems to be the one top prospect the Dodgers are willing to trade for an upgrade. Alvarez seems to be off limits for now.
- Do they consider Cody Bellinger the heir apparent to Adrian Gonzalez? I think the answer is Yes. Cody had an outstanding AFL and has even jumped to number six in the MLB top prospect list.
- Do they think Willie Calhoun can be an NL second baseman? I think the answer is still unknown. Willie had a great AFL but the question about his glove remains.
Players Who Died, died
The madcap poetic romp through Jim Carrol’s People who Died, died always struck me long before I knew anything about the Basketball Diaries. Jim wrote this iconic song in 1980, and Jim himself died in 2009 of a simple heart attack.
People live, people die, these are the baseball players who died in 2016, and here is a brief look at each of those who had either Dodger ties or impacted me as a baseball fan.
Chris Cannizzaro – Chris was a journeyman catcher who found his way to the Dodgers in 1972 near the near the end of his career. Chris had two moments of fame, he was the first San Diego Padre to be an All-Star and the first Padre to catch a pitch. The Dodgers had picked him up on waivers and he managed 233 PA, making him the de facto starting catcher in 1972. That position was a weak spot for the Dodgers as they had Chris, Duke Sims, and Dick Dietz at the end of his career. Steve Yeager was just starting his career but wouldn’t get enough at-bats to make an impact until 1974. In 1973 Chris only got a few at-bats as Joe Ferguson showed up to take most of the available at-bats. Cannizzaro was released after 1973.
Joe Garagiola – I never saw Joe play, but he was the first voice I heard broadcast baseball games. Long before Vin Scully came into my life it was Joe Garagiola who taught me about baseball on the Saturday Baseball Game of the Week. It was only later I learned of the bizarre connection between Joe and Yogi Berra. How two best friends growing up on the same block could both become World Series Champion catchers and Hall of Famers has always blown my mind. Besides his playing career, and broadcasting career, it was his hard work in his charity B.A.T that stuck in my mind. A little more research shows that Joe was also beloved by the Nuns with good reason.
Jim Hickman was one of those annoying Dodgers like Bob Bailey who passed through in the late 1960’s and did nothing while with the Dodgers but had success after they left the organization. Hickman was acquired in the 1966 Tommy Davis trade along with Ron Hunt. Hickman would have a dismal 1967 season for the Dodgers but it was not out of character. The 30 year-0ld outfielder basically did what he had always done. Nothing. The Dodgers traded him one season too soon when they showed him the door to the Cubs on April 23rd,1968. In 1969 at the age of 32, Hickman inexplicably figured things out. From 1962 – 1968 Jim Hickman garnered 2348 PA, hit 65 home runs, and had an OPS+ of just 94. From 1969 – 1972 he had 1871 PA, hit 89 home runs and had an OPS+ of 129. In 1970 Jim had an OPS+ of 155 while finishing 8th in the MPV voting. Ha, did a little more research and found out that Jim was only an Original 1962 Met but was the last Met from the original starting lineup.
Jim Hickman took the field for the 1962 New York Mets on April 14, 1962, the first Met to ever wear uniform #9.- Jim Hickman hit the first cycle in New York Mets history on August 7, 1963, only the second natural cycle in National League history.
- Jim Hickman hit the last home run ever in the Polo Grounds, a solo shot against Chris Short of the Philadelphia Phillies in a 5-1 Mets‘ loss played on September 18, 1963, the final game ever played at the Polo Grounds.
- Jim Hickman was the first New York Mets player walked and the first Mets player hit by a pitch in the newly opened Shea Stadium during their inaugural game on April 17, 1964.
- Jim Hickman was the first New York Mets player to hit three home runs in a game when Ray Sadecki served up three taters to Gentleman Jim on September 3, 1965.
Dick McAuliffe was part of the 1968 World Champion Tigers. That was the team I was rooting for in the World Series and I still know that starting lineup by heart. It wasn’t until years later while reading my first Bill James abstracts that I realized just how good a player Dick McAuliffe was. For that matter the whole 1968 Tiger team. From 1967 – 1969 Dick had three straight years of a 126 OPS+.
Milt Pappas will forever be linked to Frank Robinson but I always like his 1965 Oriole baseball Card.
Tony Phillips was the swiss army knife of major league baseball. He ended up with over 100 games at five different positions. His game was on base, and he did it well ending his career with a .374 OBP. 30 players since 1947 have had a career OBP > .370 with < 200 home runs while accumulating at least 5000 plate appearances. Tony is one of them.
Lance Rautzhan came up with Dodgers in 1977 and pitched for them in two World Series. I remember the name, and the success he had in 1978, but I don’t recall him doing anything memorable for me. He was gone by 1979.
Mike Strahler came up with the Dodgers in 1970 and pitched sporadically for them through 1972. He was part of the massive LAD/Angel trade of 1973 that sent Frank Robinson to the Angels, and Andy Messersmith to the Dodgers. Mike didn’t have much of a career for either the Dodgers or Angels.
Juan Bell never played for the Dodgers but he was a highly acclaimed prospect in the organization when he was traded on Dec 4th, 1988 for HOF Eddie Murray. Bell was only 20 when he was traded and appeared to have a bright future ahead of him but he never panned out for the Orioles. He passed away this year at the age of 48.
Alex Wood’s time may be now
When you play the what if game for 2016, Alex Wood plays a prominent part in my mind. If not for the injury would Wood have kept pitching at a high level as he had from April 29th – May 30th before going down with the elbow debridement? Could a healthy Wood have helped the Dodgers monitor the Urias innings so that they wouldn’t have had to shut him down in Sept and have him ready to take on a full role in October?
These mind games are rabbit holes, you can say the same thing in different ways for multiple Dodgers. How about 2017, what can Wood do for you?
Eric Stephen did his player profile on Wood today and within the comments a commentator named Puddle created a fan post about Wood. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you do, as it brings some nice insight into why Wood was successful during that stretch before hurting his elbow.
From what I can tell, Wood stopped throwing the curveball out of the zone and started trusting it, dropping it in for strikes by having the pitch start higher and finish closer to the center of the plate. Meanwhile, he started using his changeup as his chase pitch.
I don’t usually like looking at data by using selective end points, but for this discussion it makes sense because there is a clear change in the way he pitched on a specific date. From the time Wood made that change in the way he pitches until he got injured, he posted the 3rd best xFIP in the league.
A healthy and productive Alex Wood would be a boon to the Dodgers, whether he ends up being a mainstay in the rotation or the bullpen. Either way, I’m excited to see how Wood uses his curve in 2017, and if someone like Rich Hill can have a positive impact on him. Rich Hill has shown the world that you can be an elite pitcher using the curveball as your leading pitch.
I’m hoping for a 2016 Danny Duffy type of season from him.
Rotational Depth?
Depending on who you ask the Dodgers have plenty of pitching or not enough. This comes up because as the Dozier talks heat up I hear several arguments.
- The Dodgers should be targeting more pitching not hitting
- The Dodgers should not be trading almost major league talents like De Leon and Stewart for hitting even if that hitter is an all-star right-handed slugging 2nd baseman who fits the team perfectly.
- The Dodgers have enough pitching depth that they can trade from their minor league surplus to get that all-star right-handed slugging 2nd baseman who fits the team perfectly.
What is the current depth if the Dodgers trade Jose De Leon and Brock Stewart in a Dozier deal?
The main core:
- Clayton Kershaw – the beast was felled last year and for the first time in his storied career spent significant time on the DL. Backs don’t seem to heal magically, and while he looked just like Kershaw of old when he came back, you can understand the question mark being applied to him for the first time. Can his back hold up or is this something that will be troublesome for the rest of his career? I’m feeling somewhat optimistic and penciling him in for 200 innings.
- Kenta Maeda – Kenta never hit the DL but required an awful lot of rest for the second piece of the rotation. We should be able to pencil him in for 170 innings.
- Rich Hill – the largest question mark of a rotation full of question marks. I’m going to be conservative and simply pencil him in for what he did last year. 125 innings.
- Julio Urias – the wild card, health should not be an issue, simply how many innings will the Dodgers try to extract from him. I’m going with 125.
That is the big four of the rotation. Three left handed pitchers who could easily be three of the top 10 left handers in the National League when they actually pitch.
Now we get to the pitchers coming back from injuries:
- Alex Wood was sailing along as a member of the Dodger rotation when felled by an elbow debridement which required surgery. Once back the Dodgers didn’t trust him much and only allowed him to throw in the bullpen. If Wood is put back in the rotation he would give them four left handed starters. As a fifth piece of a rotation, he’d be solid if not spectacular. I’m giving him an optimistic 125 innings.
- Scott Kazmir is another left hander vying for a spot in the 2017 rotation, who the Dodgers are probably trying to trade even as I write this. Scott had his moments in 2016 including two brilliant back to back starts in late May. From May 14th to July 31st, Kazmir went undefeated (7 – 0) with a 3.73 ERA in 13 starts. Overall he underperformed expectations probably due to numerous injuries. He started out 2016 with a bad thumb, had some cramps, back and neck issues that put him on the DL on Aug 23rd. When he tried to come back he kept getting shut down and eventually it was determined he had thoracic spine inflammation. At the end of the year, they gave him one start and he left that early with right intercostal spasms after one inning. I’m not giving him any rotation innings in this exercise since I expect him to be traded.
- Brandon McCarthy was quite the 2016 enigma. He came back early from his TJ surgery and because of need was quickly installed into the rotation and excelled for 30 innings before going Steve Blass. Supposedly he resolved this issue but when the Dodgers gave him a start in Sept he couldn’t get one out and thus ended his 2016 season on a shield. The good news for McCarthy is that his arm seems fine. The bad news is that he’ll have to overcome about as bad an ending to a season as you can have. At this point, McCarthy has to be the poster child for the worst contract handed out by the Friedman era front office. He’s two years into the contract that has paid him $25 Million and has made all of 13 starts. He has two years left, and word is they are also trying to trade this contract. Much like Alex Wood, if Brandon McCarthy can be the guy the Dodgers signed two years ago, he’d make a great fifth starter. Or maybe he can be a stellar bullpen guy ala Derrick Lowe. I’m not giving him any rotation innings in this exercise.
- Hyun-Jin Ryu hasn’t pitched two games in a row since Sept 12, 2014. His latest setback was the same elbow debridement procedure that Alex Wood had. The Dodger FO has said that Ryu will be 100% ready by Spring Training. Based on Wood’s timetable that makes perfect sense. The bigger question is what does Ryu have left after his shoulder surgeries. Or can he even have a starters load without injuring something else? I think the Dodgers will give him a long look this spring but end up releasing him. I hope I’m really wrong on this and that he surprises everyone but for this exercise, no innings for Ryu.
The Kids:
- Ross Stripling made the Dodger rotation out of spring training and ended up making the fifth most starts on the team. It would not surprise me if that is the case again in 2017. I’m putting Ross down for 100 innings as a starter, possibly piggy backing with Urias or Hill depending on who is not pitching at the time.
- Jose De Leon appears ready for his spot in a major league rotation. It may not be with the Dodgers.
- Brock Stewart appears ready for his spot in a major league rotation. It may not be with the Dodgers.
Others:
- Vidal Nuno was acquired this winter and while it appears he’s destined for the bullpen he has made 42 major league starts, with ten coming as recently as 2015. He was used almost exclusively in relief in 2016.
- Carlos Frias has made fifteen starts for the Dodgers over the past three years. He probably would have had more in 2016 if he had been healthy.
Last year the Dodgers got roughly 850-900 innings for their starters. Using this exercise I come up with about 850 innings while being conservative with Hill, Wood, and nothing from Kazmir/McCarthy.
Looking at this exercise, while the Dodgers have enormous question marks, the depth is so deep, that I think they can trade De Leon and Brock Stewart and be okay. The back end of the rotation is not that important if Kershaw/Kenta/Hill/Urias are making their regular starts, but we know that 3 of those 4 come with their own question marks. Sure I’d rather have Jose De Leon or Brock Stewart making those 100 innings instead of Ross Stripling. In an ideal world, Kazmir or McCarthy step up.
Course that is all based on what I know, the Dodger FO should know more about the conditions of Kazmir/McCarthy/Ryu/Wood.
I’m of two minds on the Dozier deal. He is such a perfect fit for this team that I would bite the bullet and make a deal that does include De Leon and Stewart and expect the Dodger front office to make do with what they have or add to it. The idea of a Dozier lineup is simply too enticing to not make happen.
The other part of my mind is that maybe the lineup is already good enough and maybe stockpiling the pitching is the better way to go and wait to see what opens up in July. I think that I’d really enjoy watching Willie Calhoun hit for the Dodgers.
Vin Scully up for Californian of the Year
In an effort to expand my echo chamber I started a digital subscription to the NY Times. The second biggest benefit to this digital subscription has been a daily update of California Today.
On Dec 12th, they announced a contest for Californian of the Year with the following request:
In that spirit, we’d like to inaugurate a contest, “Californian of the Year” — with you as judge.
We’d love to know who you think deserves the recognition.
Who can you nominate? Anyone. The nominee could be someone who made an impact in your community or on a larger stage. It could be a professor or an athlete, a librarian or a politician.
In short: Tell us the Californian, in your view, who defined 2016.
Email CAtoday@nytimes.com, and please be sure to include:
Today, they announced the finalists. A virtual who’s who of California power players and philanthropists but with one notable exception. Vin Scully.
| • Andy Bales. The C.E.O. of Union Rescue Mission has dedicated his life to helping the homeless in Los Angeles. |
| • Marc Benioff. The Salesforce C.E.O. has made philanthropy a central part of the company’s mission. |
| • Barbara Boxer. The Democratic senator is retiring after 34 years of representing California in Congress. |
| • Jerry Brown. California’s longest-serving governor has pushed ambitious agendas. |
| • Nicole Capritz. The Climate Action Campaign founder is a force in environmental advocacy in San Diego. |
| • Betty Chin. Known as the Chinese Mother Teresa, she has been a lifeline to Eureka’s homeless. |
| • Kamala Harris. California’s new senator is seen as having a bright future on the national and state stages. |
| • Colin Kaepernick. The 49ers quarterback’s national anthem protest polarized fans and incited debate. |
| • Elon Musk. The serial entrepreneur seems to embody the creative daring of Silicon Valley. |
| • Vin Scully (see below). |
And the writer of the piece has chosen Vin as his choice.
As for me, I’m going with Mr. Scully, the gentlemanly broadcaster who retired in October after 67 years as the voice of Dodgers baseball. As the Los Angeles Times sportswriter Bill Plaschke put it, Mr. Scully “is the soundtrack of our lives, the dignified and graceful accompaniment of endless sandy summers, a daily harmonic reminder of the Southern California dream.”
This is quite a list, you could easily make a case for any of them. I nominated Andy Lipkis
Hurlers for hire
You can’t seem to check in on daily baseball transactions without being hit by an ex-Dodger hurler being signed. Either these pitchers were bonafide free agents, or were simply released by their previous team. There are so many I couldn’t decide if I should list them alphabetically or chronological.
Several former number one picks on this list, Zach Lee, Chris Withrow and Bryan Morris. along with two number two picks, Blake Smith and Josh Lindblom.
Still looking for homes are Shawn Tolleson, Rubby De La Rosa, Chris Withrow, Nathan Eovaldi, and Ethan Martin.
People would be re-writing history if at one time they did not have high hopes for Ethan Martin, Chris Withrow, Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster, and Nathan Eovaldi.
This isn’t quite TINSTAAPP but it does give me pause when I worry about trading JDL and other arms for our future second baseman.
| DateSigned | | | Pitcher | | | New Team |
| 11/29/2016 | | | Allen Webster | | | Rangers |
| 12/11/2016 | | | Lisalverto Bonilla | | | Pirates |
| 12/12/2016 | | | Dustin McGowan | | | Marlins |
| 12/13/2016 | | | Jordan Schafer | | | Cardinals |
| 12/15/2016 | | | Blake Smith | | | White Sox |
| 12/15/2016 | | | Zach Lee | | | Padres |
| 12/16/2016 | | | Josh Lindblom | | | Pirates |
| 12/17/2016 | | | Javy Guerra | | | Marlins |
| 12/17/2016 | | | Bryan Morris | | | Giants |
| FA | | | Shawn Tolleson | | | |
| FA | | | Rubby De La Rosa | | | |
| FA | | | Chris Withrow | | | |
| FA | | | Nathan Eovaldi | | | |
| FA | | | Ethan Martin | | |
I already wrote about Rubby/Withrow/Eovaldi but here is a quick snapshot of the whatnots about the others.
For a time, Webster and Rubby were joined at the hip. Both top prospects in the Dodger system at the same time, they were both traded to the Red Sox and also the Diamondbacks in the same trades. Much like Jose De Leon, Webster had been drafted very late (18th round) but had put himself on the prospect map ranking as high as the 69th top prospect. When traded to the Red Sox in the big gamble, Webster was considered a good prospect. Very quickly he opened eyes for the Red Sox and at one time was compared to Kevin Brown, but those expectations were never met. Webster has bounced around and seems likely to have little chance of having an impactful, or any type of major league career.
Bonilla was only in the system last year as a minor league free agent and never saw time with the Dodgers.
Dustin McGowan was signed in Feb of 2015 and released in March of 2015. The Dodgers were one year to early on McGowan who finally recovered from his multiple arm injuries to put up a nice 2016 season with the Marlins. He was free to sign with whoever he wanted but ended up back with the Marlins.
Jordan Schafer was signed as a minor league free agent in 2016. The one-time major league centerfielder was trying to make a comeback as a left-handed pitcher. At times he did well in AA but never enough to put him in the Dodgers plans. I was really hoping to see them do a double switch with Schafer sometime in Sept where he pitched to one batter, played CF, and then pitched to another batter. Maybe he can do this trick with the Cardinals.
Blake Smith was the LAD 2nd round pick of the 2009 draft. They tried him first as a slugging outfielder but that went nowhere and he turned back to pitching. He had a cup of tea in the majors last year with the White Sox. They released him, and then re-signed him.
Zach Lee was the highest-profile draft signing of the Dodgers during the McCourt era. The number one pick in 2010 for the LAD, he started one game for the Dodgers. He was traded last year for Chris Taylor, and released this past winter. The Padres picked him up, not unsurprising since Logan White drafted him.
Josh Lindblom was the Dodgers second round pick in 2008. At one time he looked like he could be a solid late inning relief pitcher but that never materialized. Josh was traded to the Phillies along with former number one pick Ethan Martin for Shane Victorino in 2012. That traded didn’t work out for anyone, but it was kind of a damning indictment of the Dodger drafts that they traded a number one and number two pick for 235 crappy at bats from Shane Victorino. Lindblom has bounced around pitching in the majors from 2011 – 2014 but has not pitched in the majors since 2014. Ethan Martin who had one of the great monthly debuts for a McCourt era draft pick was released by the Braves last spring and does not have a contract. The former number one pick looks to have his MLB end with a total of 44 major league innings.
Javy Guerra once amassed 21 saves for the Dodgers in 2011. He appeared to be a late bloomer as he had been drafted way back in 2004. That was his rookie season, but sadly for Javy that would be as good as it gets. He has pitched at least one game in the majors every year since 2011 but just barely.
Bryan Morris was the second number one pick of the Dodgers in the 2006 draft. The first was Clayton Kershaw. Logan White was very excited about drafting Morris and declared that they would have drafted Morris at the Kershaw spot if Kershaw had not been available. I always hoped that was a bullshit comment but it left me wary of Logan White once I heard it. Morris would never do much for the Dodgers, and ended up on the Pirates in the infamous three-way trade that brought Manny to the Dodgers. So in a way, Morris did help out the Dodgers tremendously, as did Andy LaRoche in the same deal. Morris unlike most pitchers on the list has had a successful career, and to date has posted a 133 ERA+.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 