A's outfielder Powell suspended 50 games

Stockton outfielder Boog Powell, who earned a promotion last month after winning the Midwest League All-Star MVP award, was suspended for 50 games on Monday for using a banned substance.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said Powell, an Oakland Athletics Minor League outfielder, received a 50-game suspension without pay after testing positive for an amphetamine in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The suspension is effective immediately.

Powell, whose given name is Herschel Mack Powell IV, is batting .344 with three homers, 27 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, 18 extra-base hits and a .453 on-base percentage in 80 games this season. He spent the first half of the year with Class A Beloit, where he batted .335 in 69 games, before earning a trip to the All-Star Game and a promotion to Class A Advanced Stockton. With the Ports, the left-handed outfielder is hitting .396 with 10 runs scored and 10 RBIs in 11 California League starts.

The California native earned Midwest League All-Star Game MVP honors last month when he went 1-for-3 with a two-run double, three runs scored and a pair of stolen bases, including a steal of home in the Western Division's 7-0 win at West Michigan.

The 21-year-old was the A's 20th-round pick in 2012 out of Orange Coast Junior College and debuted that summer, hitting .306 in 35 games with the Rookie-level Arizona League Athletics. He hit .283 in 59 games at Class A Short Season Vermont last year before starting his first full season in Beloit this 2014.

Powell is not related to former Major Leaguer Boog Powell, who was a favorite player of his father's. He is the 36th player to be suspended in 2014 for violating the Minor League drug program.