Astros Double-A outfielder Mitch Einertson will miss the remainder of the season after twice violating terms of the minor league drug-testing program, the commissioner’s office announced Friday. A 50-game suspension, effective immediately, resulted from the 23-year-old’s second failed test for a drug of abuse.

In his second season with Corpus Christi, Einertson batted .250/.321/.389 in 288 at-bats, contributing eight home runs and 13 doubles to the last-place Hooks. A six-year pro, he burst on to the scene in 2004, tying a 44-year-old Appalachian League record by bashing 24 homers in just 63 games of the Rookie-ball season. He won league MVP honors while also topping all Appy League batters in RBIs (67), slugging (.692) and extra-base hits (39). To top things off, his Greeneville team took home the title. 

Houston selected Einertson out of a Vista, Calif., high school in the fifth round of the ’04 draft. After slumping through two seasons at low Class A, he appeared to have his career back on track in ’07, when he batted .305/.365/.847 with 11 homers and 87 RBIs for high Class A Salem of the Carolina League. Since then, the 5-foot-10, 178-pound Einertson has fared only modestly in two Double-A seasons.