Miami's Castillo suspended for 80 games

NEW YORK -- Marlins' Minor League catcher Felix Castillo was suspended for 80 games Tuesday after testing positive for a banned drug. 

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said the 24-year-old received the suspension without pay after testing positive for Clomiphene, a performance-enhancing substance in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The suspension of Castillo will be effective at the start of the 2016 season.

The right-handed catcher hit .252 with two homers, 19 RBIs and a .293 on-base percentage in 147 at-bats across 39 games this season for the Class A Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League, his sixth Minor League season since signing with the Marlins out of Venezuela in May 2010.

Castillo has never played more than 42 games in a season and has batted .283 in 174 career games.

Clomiphene is a synthetic fertility drug that is prescribed to women to induce ovulation. It's been linked to male athletes because it helps block the effects of estrogen and promotes the natural production of testosterone. The substance is reportedly sometimes used by athletes between cycles of performance-enhancing drugs and was banned by Major League Baseball in 2008. Clomiphene is also considered a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Major League Baseball has issued 87 suspensions to 85 players this year for violations of the Minor League drug program.