Braves' Vizcaino suspended 80 games

No. 15 Braves prospect Arodys Vizcaino was suspended for 80 games Thursday after testing positive for a banned steroid.

The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said Vizcaino, who was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on March 30, received an 80-game suspension without pay after testing positive for Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The suspension will be effective for the first 80 games of the 2015 Major League regular season, as Vizcaino is on Atlanta's 40-man roster.

Vizcaino, 24, pitched at four levels last season, going from Class A Advanced Daytona up to the Majors with Chicago, where he appeared in five games out of the bullpen for the Cubs. In the Minors, he was 1-1 with a 3.51 ERA in 40 outings, striking out 42 batters in 41 innings. Chicago traded the right-hander back to Atlanta on Nov. 16, 2014 in exchange for Tommy La Stella.

Vizcaino originally signed as a free agent with the Yankees in 2007, but was traded to the Braves in 2009 in a deal that included Melky Cabrera and Javy Vazquez. The Braves flipped him to the Cubs in 2012 for Reed Johnson and Paul Maholm.

Stanozolol is a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from testosterone that is sometimes prescribed by veterinarians to encourage muscle growth, red blood cell production, bone density and to stimulate the appetite of weakened animals.