Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

Giants' Gudino, Rays' Brown suspended

Bowling Green outfielder will miss 50 games for drug of abuse
Bryce Brown has three homers and 38 RBIs over 115 career games in the Rays system since 2017. (Nick Musial/MiLB.com)
April 26, 2019

Rays outfield prospect Bryce Brown and Giants reliever Norwith Gudino were suspended on Friday after both tested positive for banned substances.The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said Brown will be suspended for 50 games after testing positive for an undisclosed drug of abuse, while Gudino will sit for 80

Rays outfield prospect Bryce Brown and Giants reliever Norwith Gudino were suspended on Friday after both tested positive for banned substances.
The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said Brown will be suspended for 50 games after testing positive for an undisclosed drug of abuse, while Gudino will sit for 80 games after he was flagged for the steroid Stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance. 

It was the second time Brown has tested positive for a drug of abuse.
The 22-year-old was the Rays' 15th-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft out of Jackson State. He was batting .200 (9-for-45) with a homer, six RBIs, three steals, 10 runs scored and three extra-base hits in 13 games this month with Class A Bowling Green in the Midwest League. He spent last summer with Class A Short-Season Hudson Valley, where he hit .202 with a pair of homers and 11 RBIs in 51 games. He made his Minor League debut in 2017 with Rookie Advanced Princeton, hitting .239 in 51 games.

In 115 career games, the right-handed outfielder owns a .219 average with 38 RBIs and 57 runs in 392 at-bats.
Gudino signed with the Giants out of Venezuela in October 2014 and has appeared in 60 games since 2015. He's 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA in 9 1/3 innings over appearances out of the bullpen for Class A Augusta this season. The 23-year-old suited up for three San Francisco affiliates in 2018, including one game for Class A Advanced San Jose, finishing 8-6 with a 4.41 ERA in 16 games (14 starts). He struck out 76 and walked 13 in 79 2/3 innings with Augusta, San Jose and Class A Short Season Salem-Keizer. The righty earned Northwest League Pitcher of the Week honors last July 1.
Substances considered drugs of abuse under the Minor League drug program include anything considered a Schedule I and II controlled substance in the U.S. -- that list includes marijuana, synthetic THC, cocaine, MDA, Ecstasy, opiates like heroin and morphine and other drugs like "bath salts," LSD and PCP. Players who test positive for a drug of abuse are given a warning and must have a follow-up test, while a second violation results in a 50-game suspension.
Stanozolol is a synthetic steroid derived from testosterone that was classified as a Schedule III controlled substance under federal regulation in the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004. It has long been considered a PED, banned first by the International Olympic Committee in 1974.
MLB has suspended 17 players this year for violations of the Minor League drug program.

Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com.