| Josh Lindblom | |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 52 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: June 15, 1987 Lafayette, Indiana |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| June 1, 2011 for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 season) |
|
| Win-Loss | 1-0 |
| Earned run average | 2.73 |
| Strikeouts | 28 |
| Teams | |
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Joshua William Lindblom (born June 15, 1987 in Lafayette, Indiana) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lindblom attended high school at Harrison High School. He was drafted in the third round of the 2005 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros after being listed by Baseball America as the top prospect in the state of Indiana. He was 8-2 as a High School senior with a 2.30 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 76 innings. Rather than sign with the Astros, Lindblom chose to attend the University of Tennessee.[1]
After one season with the Volunteers, Lindblom transferred to Purdue University for the 2007 season.[2] He was a starter with Tennessee, but became the closer for Purdue in 2007-2008. Lindblom was listed as being among the 75 top college baseball players by USA Baseball.[3][4]
He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 2008 MLB Draft and made his professional baseball debut that same year with the Single-A Great Lakes Loons in the Midwest League.[5] He started eight games for the Loons, finishing 0-0 with a 1.86 ERA in 29 innings worked. He struck out 33 batters, while walking only 4. He got a late season call-up to the AA Jacksonville Suns, where he made one start.
In 2009, he pitched in several spring training games for the Major League Dodgers and there was some speculation that he could even make the big league club to start the season.[6] However, he was instead assigned to start the year with the Dodgers new AA affiliate, the Chattanooga Lookouts. He made 14 appearances for the Lookouts, including 11 starts and had a record of 3-5 and an ERA of 4.71 when he was promoted to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes. With the Isotopes, Lindblom made 3 starts and then was transferred to the bullpen. He had a 2.54 ERA in 20 games and was 3-0.
In 2010, he spent the entire season with Albuquerque. He made 10 starts with the Isotopes, before they decided to return him to being a relief pitcher. He finished the season 3-2 with a 6.54 ERA in 40 appearances. He was demoted to Chattanooga in 2011, where he started the season with seven saves and a 2.96 ERA in 19 games. On May 29, 2011, he was called up to the Dodgers. He made his Major League debut in relief on June 1, 2011 against the Colorado Rockies, allowing two hits in a scoreless seventh inning during a 3-0 Dodgers loss. On August 12, 2011, he won his first game, pitching a scoreless tenth inning against the Houston Astros in a game the Dodgers won 1-0 in the bottom of that inning. He pitched in 29.2 innings for the Dodgers in 2011, with a 2.73 ERA and 28 strikeouts.