The Atlanta Braves have had a busy offseason. They have been making big headlines for some big trades and snatching up some interesting minor league deals. Yesterday they blew up news feeds in a negative light.
.@Braves RHP Arodys Vizcaino suspended 80 games after testing positive for PEDs http://t.co/Ee6k6fdrFZ pic.twitter.com/VyogmbjuZS
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 2, 2015
Arodys Vizcaino is the No. 15 ranked prospect in the Braves’€™ system. The Braves have such high hopes on the 24-year old right hander that they have traded for him not once, but twice! Originally signed by the New York Yankees in 2007 out of the Dominican Republic, he was shipped to Atlanta in the Melky Cabrera deal in 2009.
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Vizcaino skyrocketed through the Braves’€™ system and at the young age of 20, he made his MLB debut in 2011. He struggled as a 20-year old would (4.67 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, nine walks over 17.1 innings) but his patented 98 mile per hour fastball and power curve were still impressive. Vizcaino then tore his UCL and missed the next two full seasons from first recovering from Tommy John and then a second surgery to clean up the first procedure.
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He was traded to the Cubs while on the shelf in 2012. After Vizcaino made a solid return in the minors in 2014, the Braves sent
Tommy La Stellato the Chicago. and brought him back. He had a rough spring training going 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA while allowing 8 runs, 9 hits and issuing 8 walks over 9 innings. He was reassigned to the minor leagues on Wednesday and then popped for PEDs on Thursday.
Vizcaino was suspended 80-games for using Stanozolol, and anabolic steroid mainly used by veterinarians to help bone growth. It is the same drug that Seattle Mariners’ prospect David Rollins was suspended 80-games for last week. Whether Vizcaino was trying to get an edge or felt he simply wasn’t all the way back from Tommy John surgery, the bottom line is he was caught doing a drug on the banned substance list.
The amount of minor leaguers suspended this season continues to climb, as it nears 50. Since Vizcaino is on the 40-man roster however, he faces penalties under the Major League guidelines. The Braves can expect Vizcaino back by mid-season.