Mariners farmhand Snow suspended

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced Tuesday that Seattle Mariners Minor League pitcher Forrest Snow has received a 50-game suspension without pay after a second positive test for a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The suspension of Snow, 24, who is currently on the roster of Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, will be effective at the start of the 2014 season.

A Seattle native and University of Washington product, Snow was a 36th-round pick in the 2010 Draft. The 6-foot-6 right-hander went 5-5 with a 2.96 ERA in 42 appearances (two of them starts) for Tacoma and Double-A Jackson in 2013, striking out 84 batters in 82 innings.

Snow's 2013 campaign was his strongest since 2010. He posted a 6.35 ERA in 2012 and a 5.09 mark in 2011, primarily as a starter. As a rookie in 2010, Snow opened his professional career with 25 1/3 scoreless innings -- allowing just eight hits -- over 10 games for Class A Short-Season Everett. Later that summer, after a promotion to full-season Clinton, he posted a 1.35 ERA in 15 Midwest League relief appearances.