Sox's Schmidt, Twins' Banks suspended
The Minor League season only has a handful of games remaining, but two prospects have already had their 2018 campaigns come to an end.
Red Sox catching prospect Alberto Schmidt (76 games) and Twins right-hander Alex Banks (72 games) have both been suspended after testing positive for the banned performance-enhancing drug Stanozolol, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced Friday.
Schmidt was a 16th-round pick by Boston out of Puerto Rico in the 2016 Draft. He played in the Gulf Coast League during his first two Minor League seasons before moving up to Class A Short Season Lowell this summer. The 21-year-old backstop hit .208/.299/.273 with a homer and two doubles in 25 games with the Spinners. He was a defensive asset behind the plate, throwing out 43.8 percent of attempted basestealers.
Banks, a Dominican Republic native, was signed by the Twins on May 8 and spent his first professional summer with the organization's Dominican Summer League affiliate. The 17-year-old right-hander posted an 8.59 ERA and 1.98 WHIP with 13 strikeouts and nine walks in 14 2/3 innings while working mostly as a reliever.
Both players will have their suspensions carry into the 2019 season.
Sixty-five Minor Leaguers have been suspended this year for violating the Minor or Major League drug program.
Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.