JUPITER ? Troubled Marlins pitching prodigy Jeff Allison has fallen off the fast track again.

 

Allison, the talented right-hander who overcame a heroin overdose and a dependency on OxyContin to return to the mound last season, has left the team's minor league complex. He has not been released or placed on the restricted list, but it's unclear when or if he will return to the organization.

 

"I don't know what his [official] status is, but no, he's not with us," Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said Wednesday at Roger Dean Stadium. "He's suspended, I believe."

 

Loria, who visited Allison at a Massachusetts rehabilitation center before the 2004 season, said he wasn't sure if the pitcher had returned to rehab. It's unclear if Allison's latest departure was related to another failed drug test.

 

"I don't know where he's going or what he's doing," Loria said. "We're in the process of dealing with that now."

 

A first-round draft pick in 2003, Allison went 5-4 with a 4.18 ERA last year in 17 starts for Class A Greensboro. He was slated to begin this year at Class A Jupiter in the Florida State League.

 

Allison, 21, was Baseball America's High School Player of the Year in 2003 after a standout career in Peabody, Mass., outside Boston. Rail thin, brash and armed with a mid-90s fastball and vicious curveball, he has been compared to former Marlins star Josh Beckett.

 

Allison entered a drug treatment center the winter after his first pro season after abusing OxyContin, a prescription painkiller.

 

Placed on the Marlins' restricted list the following spring, Allison suffered a heroin overdose in Lynn, Mass., in July 2004.

 

"I feel sad for the kid, but he's going to have to get himself together," Loria said. "I hope he does because he's got a great talent and a great ability. He has a gift, and it would be a shame to waste that gift."

 

Allison signed for $1.85 million but has collected less than half that amount after his contract was restructured and additional drug tests were scheduled.

 

"I liked him very much when I met him and spent some time with him," Loria said. "He has to go through the system like everybody else. Hopefully he'll put his life together. We're praying for him."

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-all...ports-headlines

Ugh, I hope this is another Ricky Williams-type deal...This kid can't be serious....

Yikes. :confused

Hard to imagine a scenario where this doesn't end badly.

If he left because of the drug problem I say release the bum.

This is sad news. I was really pulling for the kid.

He's done.

What a waste...

 

Jeff Allison = Josh Hamilton

 

:confused

that's too bad. hope he gets better for his own saake.

He's done.

 

 

Yup...assuming it is drug related. Just a shame the talent he had. I hope for his sake that he wins this battle in the long run. Maybe getting out of baseball is what he needs to do.

What a waste...

 

Jeff Allison = Josh Hamilton

 

:confused

 

Is this a proposed trade? Sad to hear this news again, its a shame when the god lord gives someone a gift and they don't put it to use.

I expect we'll hear more about what happened in due time.

What's with Marlins players going AWOL lately?

 

:plain

well the same guy that scouted allison is scouting my little cousin...ill ask my cuz if he can find out whats up

This sucks I hope it isnt drug related

They should just release this loser

What a waste...

 

Jeff Allison = Josh Hamilton

 

:confused

 

Is this a proposed trade? Sad to hear this news again, its a shame when the god lord gives someone a gift and they don't put it to use.

 

Heck yeah I am all for a trade of Allison for Hamilton!

I am not sure Hamilton is tradable since he has another year of suspension but at least he has resolved most of his problems while Allisons problems are just beginning

I suppose he's toast.

 

It would have hurt the farm much worse if not for all the off-season trades.

 

Right now you look at the situation and feel bad for Jeff, but not for our future hopes. It's probably time to cut ties with him.

Here it is, I guess. I hope some more details come out...

 

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) - Troubled Florida Marlins pitching prospect Jeff Allison, who returned to the mound last season following a near-fatal drug overdose, has been suspended for violating club policy.

 

The team disclosed the suspension in a one-sentence statement Thursday but declined further comment.

 

A heroin overdose, a failed drug test for marijuana and an addiction to the powerful painkiller OxyContin led Allison to miss the 2004 season. He spent time in rehab, then returned to make 17 starts last season for class A Greensboro, where he went 5-4 with a 4.18 ERA.

 

Allison, 21, was slated to begin this season at class A Jupiter in the Florida State League.

 

The hard-throwing right-hander was the Marlins' first-round draft pick in 2003 out of high school in Peabody, Mass., and signed for $1.85 million US. He has collected less than half that amount after his contract was restructured.

 

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Baseball/MLB/200...1480502-ap.html

I dont feel bad at him for all. He is such an idiot. He could have played a few years, made a few million and then done all the drugs he wanted after.

oh well. we're probably going to be fine on pitching for years anyway. Hope the kid gets his life together soon. Perhaps coming back into baseball wasn't the right thing to do until he'd really spent some time just getting his life together.