This offseason will be longer than most for Double-A corner infielder Ron Bourquin. He won’t be able to suit up for a Tigers affiliate until early next June after he drew a 50-game suspension for testing positive for an amphetamine, MLB announced today.

Bourquin, a second-round draft pick in 2006 out of Ohio State, ranked as the team’s No. 20 prospect in 2007, but has not been in the Top 30 since then.

He spent most of this season with low Class A West Michigan before being promoted to Double-A Erie, where he finished the year. Over 424 at-bats, the 24-year-old hit .267/.361/.408 with 30 doubles and eight home runs.

Cardinals minor leaguer Alan Ahmady, most notable for driving in 92 runs for Fresno State’s national championship team in 2008, was suspended for 50 games for violating MLB’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Ahmady tested positive for an amphetamine.

The Cardinals drafted Ahmady in the 11th round this season after he batted .326 for the Bulldogs as a junior. He was a crucial middle-of-the-lineup force for the Bulldogs’ 2008 national champions, batting .382-13-92, ranking second only to Buster Posey in RBIs among Division I batters. In his pro debut with short-season Batavia, Ahmady played both third base and first base, with a little catcher and left field thrown in, while batting .292/.407/.391 with three home runs. His on-base percentage ranked second in the New York-Penn League.

MLB suspended two more minor league players for 50 games after each tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

One was third baseman Stephen King, the Nationals’ third-round pick in 2006. He’s the second ‘06 Nats pick suspended this year, joining Stephen Englund, another prep infielder who was converted to pitching this year. King, 22, spent the last two seasons in high Class A Potomac and hit .222/.304/.340 this season. King tested positive for Ritalinic Acid, a stimulant.

The other is catcher Wilson (also known as Willson) Contreras, in the Cubs organization, who was in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League this season, batting .205. He tested positive for metabolites of Nandrolone.
 

For the record, a pair of second-round draft picks recently were hit with 50-game suspensions for each testing positive for an amphetamine, a performance-enhancing substance under the minors’ drug-testing system.

• Nationals outfielder-turned-righthander Stephen Englund, 21, began serving his suspension on Aug. 11. Washington’s second-round selection in ’06 from Bellevue (Wash.) High, he had been in the process of converting to the mound when the suspension was announced. In three appearances for the Rookie-level GCL Nationals, Englund struck out four batters and walked none over 2 2/3 perfect innings of work. [...] Continue Reading »

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.

Well-traveled reliever Rafael Cruz’s journey comes to an end—for the next 50 games, at least—after the Braves righthander received a suspension yesterday for testing positive for metabolites of Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance.

The 32-year-old native of Santiago, Dominican Republic, had yet to surrender an earned run in eight relief outings with Triple-A Gwinnett. On the season, spent mostly at Double-A Mississippi, Cruz has appeared in 30 games, striking out 25, walking 10 and allowing three home runs in 31 1/3 innings. His record stands at 1-3, 3.45. [...] Continue Reading »

Diamondbacks third baseman Agustin Murillo and Cardinals righthander Kenny Maiques were suspended for 50 games for violating Major League Baseball’s drug prevention and treatment program. Murillo tested positive for Clenbuterol, which MLB classifies as a performance enhancer. Maiques was suspended for testing positive for a drug of abuse.

Murillo, 27, was hitting .317/.388/.475 for Triple-A Reno in the Pacific Coast League. He passed his drug tests this spring, apparently, as he played for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. He also had a strong Mexican Pacific League this winter, hitting .345 with 11 home runs and league highs of 87 hits, 30 doubles and 150 total bases. Murillo signed with Arizona in October 2002 and spent both 2007 and 2008 on loan to the Mexican League.

Maiques, 23, was having a rough season at Double-A Springfield, walking 13 in 3 2/3 innings. He signed in 2006 as a draft-and-follow out of Rio Hondo (Calif.) JC. He was a 37th-round pick in 2005 and touched 94 mph with his fastball prior to having Tommy John surgery. Maiques had 31 saves in 2007 at low Class A Quad Cities.

Rockies minor league outfielder Kevin Clark received a 50-game suspension, effective immediately, in a disciplinary action announced today by Major League Baseball. The 23-year-old failed a test for amphetamines, which qualify as a performance-enhancing substance under MLB guidelines. 

A lefthanded batter and fourth-year pro, Clark was batting .241/.313/.345 with three doubles in 29 at-bats for high Class A Modesto at the time of the suspension. Colorado selected him in the sixth round of the 2006 draft, out of Manatee (Fla.) CC.

Major League Baseball announced today that it has suspended Brewers minor league righthander Pedro Lambertus for 50 games. He tested positive for metabolites of Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance.

The 20-year-old, who signed with the Brewers out of the Dominican Republic in 2006, was 0-1, 4.91 with three strikeouts and three walks through 3 2/3 innings, covering three relief appearances, for low Class A Wisconsin.

Another season, another reason to believe Twins first baseman Henry Sanchez will not be able to fulfill his prodigious power potential.

The 2005 supplemental first-round pick—drafted 39th overall and signed for $900,000—was suspended Friday for 50 games for testing positive for a drug of abuse, in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment program.

Sanchez, 22, played high school ball with 2004 No. 1 overall pick Matt Bush at Mission Bay High in San Diego. He has had injuries throughout his career but also has just never hit. In four seasons he has just 310 at-bats and has hit .216/.297/.358, with eight home runs. He was 3-for-13 for low Class A Beloit this season prior to the suspension. [...] Continue Reading »