Globe iconLogin iconRecap iconSearch iconTickets icon

Three Minor Leaguers receive drug suspensions

Giants' Bostic, Angels' Grieshaber, Marlins' Squier penalized
Alex Bostic owns a 6.87 ERA over 90 1/3 career innings in the Minor Leagues. (Jared Ravich/MiLB.com)
December 8, 2017

Three Minor League players will miss a good chunk of the 2018 regular season, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced Friday.Giants left-hander Alex Bostic, Angels shortstop Keith Grieshaber and Marlins left-hander Scott Squier were each suspended after testing positive for drugs that violated the Minor League Drug Prevention

Three Minor League players will miss a good chunk of the 2018 regular season, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball announced Friday.
Giants left-hander Alex Bostic, Angels shortstop Keith Grieshaber and Marlins left-hander Scott Squier were each suspended after testing positive for drugs that violated the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Bostic earned a 50-game suspension for a positive test of Ritalinic Acid, Grieshaber is out 100 games after a third positive test for a drug of abuse and Squier received a 50-game ban for a second positive test for a drug of abuse.

The Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program defines the following as drugs of abuse: marijuana, hashish, THC, synthetic THC, cocaine, LSD, opiates (such as oxycodone and heroin), ecstasy, GHB and PCP. Ritalnic Acid is considered a banned stimulant.
Bostic was a 10th-round pick out of Clemson by the Giants in the 2016 Draft. He posted an 8.53 ERA and 1.92 WHIP with 32 strikeouts and 35 walks in 38 innings this past season between Class A Short Season Salem-Keizer and Class A Augusta.

Grieshaber, a 16th-round pick in that same Draft, split time between Class A Advanced Inland Empire and Class A Burlington in 2017, hitting .285/.370/.409 with four homers and 25 stolen bases over 81 games. He didn't make his season debut until June 1 after serving a 50-game suspension for his second positive test of a drug of abuse. 
Squier is the most exprienced of the group, having played four seasons in the Minors since going to the Marlins in the 16th round out of Hawaii in 2014. He spent the entire 2017 campaign with Class A Advanced Jupiter, where he posted a 3.82 ERA and 1.28 WHIP with 102 strikeouts and 26 walks over 132 innings.
The Commisioner's Office has suspended 86 players this year for violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

Sam Dykstra is a reporter for MiLB.com. Follow and interact with him on Twitter, @SamDykstraMiLB.