Reds' righty Tuttle suspended again

Reds Minor League right-hander Dan Tuttle will miss the majority of the season after receiving a 100-game suspension following his third violation of the Minor League drug program Thursday.

Tuttle, who missed 50 games after he was suspended July 19, 2011, received a 100-game ban without pay after a third violation for a drug of abuse. Although Tuttle has yet to appear in a Minor League game this season, the suspension is effective immediately.

The 22-year-old right-hander went 1-3 with a 5.08 ERA in eight starts last year for Class A Dayton of the Midwest League, but has been on the disabled list this season since April 4.

Tuttle was disciplined for his second violation in 2011 while with the Arizona League Reds. He was Cincinnati's fifth-round pick out of Randleman (N.C.) High School in the 2009 Draft and is 14-12 with a 4.13 ERA in 46 career games over four seasons.

Drugs of abuse as defined by Major League Baseball include cocaine, LSD, marijuana, opiates like heroin and morphine, Ecstasy and several others. Players who test positive for a drug of abuse are initially entered in a drug treatment program, and the violation is kept confidential. Those players are also subject to mandatory followup testing, with a second (and third) violation resulting in a suspension.

Tuttle is the 19th player to be suspended by the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball for violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program in 2013. He's the first player since Detroit's Cesar Carrillo on March 15 to receive a 100-game suspension this season.