ACL Cubs' pitcher Peters suspended

Chicago Cubs Minor League pitcher Mathew Peters is set to sit out the entire 2024 season after testing positive for a banned substance, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball said.

Peters, who is currently on Chicago’s Arizona Complex League roster, was suspended on Jan. 26 for the 2024 ACL season after testing positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (better known as Oral Turinabol), a performance enhancing substance in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The drug is believed to help improve muscle growth and strength.

Peters was the Cubs' 12th-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne, Indiana and received $125,000 as a signing bonus. He appeared in 14 games for the ACL Cubs in 2023, finishing 0-1 with a 16.68 ERA in 11 1/3 innings. He struck out 12 and walked 24. He made two appearances in 2022, one with the ACL Cubs and another with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.

The right-hander pitched for Hillsborough Community College before transferring to Ivy Tech following a growth spurt in which he went from a five-foot, seven-inch senior at Fort Wayne's Bishop Dwenger High School to a six-foot, three-inch pitcher by the time he reached Hillsborough. He had committed to pitching at Miami University in Ohio before signing with Chicago.

Peters had planned to pitch in the MLB Draft League in 2022 before pivoting to the Cape Cod League, where he played for the Chatham Anglers.