NEW YORK (AP) — Boston Red Sox pitcher Michael Kopech has been suspended for 50 games under baseball’s minor league drug program following a positive test for the banned stimulant Oxilofrine.
Kopech, a 19-year-old right-hander, was taken by Boston in the first round of last year’s amateur draft with the 33rd pick and signed for a $1.5 million bonus. He is from Mount Pleasant High School in Texas.
Kopech is 4-5 with a 2.63 ERA this year with Greenville of the Class A South Atlantic League.
The suspension, announced Thursday, is the 69th this year under the minor league drug program.
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