The Colorado Rockies were three days away from starting the 2012 season in Houston against the then-NL Central basement-dwelling and non-cheating Astros. Before the season would start though, they made a waiver claim from the St. Louis Cardinals. It was for pitcher Adam Ottavino.
Ottavino was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft (30th overall pick). They were grooming him to be a starting pitcher and he reached the major leagues in 2010. However, he was bombed to an 8.46 ERA in five games (three starts).
In 2011, he did not make an appearance at the major league level but for Triple-A Memphis, he pitched to a 7-8 record with an ERA of 4.