Duke’s Stroman suspended from MLB for drug use

Marcus Stroman, the first Blue Devil drafted in the MLB Draft’s first round, was suspended under MLB’s drug policy.
Marcus Stroman, the first Blue Devil drafted in the MLB Draft’s first round, was suspended under MLB’s drug policy.

Marcus Stroman’s first season as a professional baseball player has come to a close after the former Blue Devil was suspended for violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

“Stroman has been suspended for 50 games without pay after testing positive for methylhexaneamine,” a press release from MLB announced.

Methylhexaneamine is a known stimulant.

Stroman made history June 4, 2012 when the Toronto Blue Jays selected him with the 22nd overall selection of the first round in the MLB First-Year Player Draft. Stroman was the first Blue Devil pitcher ever selected in the first round.

Although Stroman could not be reached for comment, he released a statement through the Blue Jays.

“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. “Nonetheless, I accept full responsibility and I want to apologize to the Toronto Blue Jays organization, my family, my teammates and the Blue Jays fans everywhere. I look forward to putting this behind me and rejoining my teammates.”

Throughout his three-year Duke career, Stroman made 48 appearances—including 27 starts—and compiled a 15-13 record.

His junior year, the last he spent at Duke, Stroman sported a 2.39 Earned Run Average to go along with 136 strikeouts in just 98 innings. Stroman ranks fourth all-time in strikeouts at Duke with 290. He also has the second lowest career ERA of any Blue Devil in the aluminum bat era, dating back to 1974, with a 3.27 mark. He ranks sixth among all-time Blue Devils.

In his short time as a professional, Stroman has a 3.26 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 19.1 innings split between Blue Jays’ Low-A affiliate in Vancouver and Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire. New Hampshire has just seven games remaining in their season, so Stroman will miss the first 43 games of the 2013 season in addition to the remainder of 2012.

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