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Brewers' West suspended 50 games

Left-hander violates Minor League program for second time
August 5, 2013

Brewers prospect Will West was suspended for 50 games on Monday after his second violation of the Minor League drug program.

West, a left-hander with Milwaukee's Arizona League affiliate, will miss 50 games without pay after a second violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for a drug of abuse. The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said the ban is effective immediately.

West, 21, has pitched in three games this year for the AZL Brewers, allowing four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He split the 2012 season between Class A Wisconsin and Rookie-level Helena, finishing the season 1-5 with a 7.30 ERA in 13 starts after debuting in 2011 in the AZL.

West's suspension is not related to the bans handed down from the Commissioner's Office to 13 players earlier on Monday -- those were in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. He is the 38th player to be suspended in 2013 for violating the Minor League drug program.

The lefty from Tallahassee, Fla., attended Georgia Tech and Tallahassee Community College after going to Chiles High School and North Florida Christian School, where he threw back-to-back no hitters during the 2009 season. He never pitched collegiately, though, and quit baseball while in college. The southpaw then moved back home to work in construction but was scouted by the Brewers during a summer adult league game and later signed a free agent contract with the organization in 2011.

Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com.