Royals third baseman/first baseman Jason Taylor had helped regain his prospect status with a solid 2008 season, but his long-term future is once again in doubt after Major League Baseball announced he will miss the first 50 games of the 2009 season after testing positive for a drug of abuse.

This is Taylor’s first MLB-sanctioned suspension for drugs, but he also missed the entire 2007 season after the Royals sent him home for disciplinary purposes. He had helped his cause with a solid return to the game in 2008, as he hit .242/.372/.418 for low Class A Burlington. He also stole 40 bases in 54 tries. But with the suspension, he will now miss a significant portion of the 2009 season, and faces a 100-game suspension if he fails another drug test.

Coming out of a Virginia Beach, Va., high school, Taylor was not projected to go until later in the draft, but the Royals selected him with the first pick of the second round in 2006, and signed for $762,500. Taylor has played third base during most of is career, but he moved to first base when paired in Burlington with Royals’ top prospect Mike Moustakas.