A current West Michigan Whitecaps pitcher and a former Bowling Green Hot Rods hurler each were suspended 50 games Monday after testing positive for banned substances.
According to a press release from the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, Whitecaps RHP Spenser Watkins and Charlotte Stone Crabs RHP Damion Carroll were suspended without pay following their second positive tests for a drug of abuse.
Watkins made two starts for the Whitecaps this month, striking out 12 while allowing only two runs on five hits and three walks in 10.2 innings. He struck out nine and limited batters to only one hit and one walk in six scoreless innings against the Dayton Dragons on Friday.
Watkins was a New York-Penn League All-Star last year when he went 5-4 with a 2.23 ERA, 55 strikeouts and 19 walks in 64.2 IP (12 starts) for the short-season Connecticut Tigers. The Detroit Tigers prospect also pitched 18.2 innings for the Whitecaps last season, posting a 3.38 ERA with 14 strikeouts and six walks.
Carroll, a reliever, made only two appearances for the Stone Crabs this season, giving up three runs (two earned) in two innings. The Tampa Bay Rays farmhand spent the entire 2015 season with the Hot Rods, going 5-2 with a 3.64 ERA, two saves, 53 strikeouts and 57 walks in 32 relief appearances (54.1 innings).
