Marlins' Copeland suspended 50 games

Marlins outfielder Kolby Copeland, the organization's No. 16 prospect, was suspended by Major League Baseball on Tuesday after refusing to take a drug test.

Copeland, the Marlins' third-round pick in the 2012 Draft, will miss the first 50 games of the season without pay -- refusing to take an offseason drug test is considered a violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

The 19-year-old Elm Grove, La., native is ranked as Miami's No. 4 outfield prospect entering 2013 after the Marlins drafted him out of Parkway (Bossier City, La.) High School with the 127th pick of last year's Draft. The lefty-swinging outfielder was also an honorable mention all-state selection as a high school football quarterback at Parkway. He was a two-time Times All-City selection in baseball and hit .390 with four homers in his senior season.

He batted .280 with 34 RBIs and four stolen bases in 62 games last season between the Class A Short-Season Jamestown Jammers and the Marlins' Rookie-level Gulf Coast affiliate.

Copeland is the eighth Minor Leaguer to be suspended in 2013 for violating the Minor League drug program.