Seth Bynum earned the nod as starting second baseman in last season's Triple-A all-star game. He will not have an opportunity to represent the International League again this season.

The reason: Major League Baseball today announced that the 29-year-old Bynum, who plays for Syracuse, had received a 50-game suspension. He tested positive for an amphetamine, a performance-enhancing substance as deemed by the minor league drug prevention and treatment program.

A 38th-round pick by the Expos out of Indiana in 2003, Bynum signed the following May and set about defying the odds. He reached Double-A in 2006 and stayed there (for the most part) until 2009, when he made his Triple-A debut. A strong first half (13 home runs, .495 slugging) earned him all-star honors, but he faded in the second half (.384 slugging).

Bynum was off to a modest start this season, batting .257/.315/.455 with four home runs and 9-to-27 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 101 at-bats.