Former Lake County Captains pitcher Thomas Pannone, currently a Toronto Blue Jays farmhand, was suspended 80 games after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), Major League Baseball announced Friday.

DHCMT is an anabolic steroid.

Pannone denied knowingly taking the substance, and posted the following statement on his Twitter account:

Pannone was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in 2013, and pitched for the Captains in 2015 and 2016. He cumulatively went 12-11 with a 3.59 ERA, 204 strikeouts and 62 walks in 205.2 innings pitched (44 games/37 starts) in the Midwest League.

The Blue Jays acquired the left-hander from the Indians at the trade deadline last year. He split the 2017 season between three teams in High-A and Double-A, cumulatively going 9-3 with a 2.36 ERA, 149 strikeouts and 36 walks in 144.2 innings (25 starts).

The suspension will begin at the start of the 2018 season.