Medford's Stroman Suspended For Using Banned Substance

Patchogue-Medford High School graduate and budding baseball star Marcus Stroman has been suspended 50 games for his use of a banned substance, the Toronto Blue Jays announced on Tuesday night.

According to a press release from the Blue Jays, Stroman was suspended for using the stimulant methylhexaneamine. Toronto made the Medford native the team’s first round pick in the 2012 draft and signed him to a $1.8 million contract.

"Despite taking precautions to avoid violating the Minor League testing program, I unknowingly ingested a banned stimulant that was in an over-the-counter supplement," Stroman said in a statement. "Nonetheless, I accept full responsibility and I want to apologize to the Toronto Blue Jays organization, my family, my teammates, and Blue Jays fans everywhere. I look forward to putting this behind me and rejoining my teammates."

Stroman was with the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, his second professional team after joining the short-season Class A Vancouver Canadians. He was 3-0 with a 3.26 ERA, 23 strikeouts and nine walks in 19 1/3 innings between the two stops.

Stroman will miss the final seven games of the Fisher Cats’ season and the first 43 games next year. He will not be eligible to appear in a game until mid-May of 2013. The Blue Jays had hoped that Stroman could see time with Toronto next season, but the suspension now makes that unlikely, team officials said.

"My natural reaction is disappointment," said Blue Jays assistant general manager Tony LaCava, who oversees Minor League development. "Obviously, you never expect something like that to happen. That being said, it's a stiff penalty for him to pay. He unknowingly took a product that was over the counter [that] had a stimulant in it, and the burden is on the player, so he's obviously going to pay the price.”