Jamie Arnold

Buried deep in the Braves’ rich stable of stellar pitching prospects, Arnold was released in October 1999 after seven years in the minors. He was signed by Los Angeles soon afterwards and finally earned a major-league job in the Dodger bullpen after a month in Triple-A. When Carlos Perez was forced to miss a start in June, Arnold made the most of the opportunity by shutting down the Expos for nearly seven innings, allowing only a single to Orlando Cabrera to lead off the sixth. A month later, he briefly inherited a rotation spot previously occupied by Darren Dreifort, but was unable to hold onto the job. Most glaring was Arnold’s disturbing tendency to walk more batters than he struck out. Arnold was demoted in August, and the following season was sent to the Cubs in a deadline deal for Ismael Valdes.