St. Louis Cardinals minor league pitcher Jefferson Segundo has been suspended 50 games for a violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, Major League Baseball announced on Friday. The 20-year-old tested positive for metabolites of Stanozolol.
Segundo is a native of the Dominican Republic who was signed during the second quarter of 2009 by the organization and assigned to the Dominican Summer League Cardinals.
In his first professional season, the 6-foot-3, 165-pound right-hander appeared in 12 games including one start, posting a 8.04 ERA. Primarily deployed as a late-innings reliever, Segundo struck out 17 in 15 2/3 innings, but walked an amazing 25 opposing batters.
Segundo, which literally means “second” in Spanish, is in fact the second Cardinals farmhand to have failed a test for banned substances since the conclusion of the 2009 regular season.
60 days ago, it was announced that Batavia infielder Alan Ahmady is suspended for the first 50 games of the 2010 season due to a positive test for an amphetamine. The 2009 draftee had also been suspended twice for unannounced violations at Fresno State this past spring.
In 2009 alone, Segundo is the fifth Cardinal minor leaguer to have been busted, following Deryk Hooker, Kenny Maiques, Dail Villanueva and Ahmady and 11th in the last two years. Maiques was our 15th-ranked Cardinals prospect at Scout.com/The Cardinal Nation just two years ago coming off a record-setting save season with Quad Cities only to be released this July.
Including the Cardinals five, 79 minor leaguers across the 30 MLB systems have been suspended under the program during 2009. An organization’s “fair share” of the total would be between two and three.
Since 2005, the Cardinals have seen a total of 16 of their Major or Minor Leaguers face suspension for substance violations, ranking among the highest number of suspensions of any MLB organization. Here is a link to details about the first 13.
Segundo is a great name! I may need to alter my handle to SegundoShrimp.
In general, under Luhnow, the Cards seem no-nonsense on unauthorized behaviors. Hooker not only got suspended, we demoted him a rung. We hope this may get his attention. If it does not, he is gone, sayonara. Maiques was unable to get his head focused on baseball, so got bounced. We do not have roster spaces to waste on guys who cannot get themselves focused on baseball.
Why did Herron get let go? I have no idea, but he disappointed someone.
There was a pitcher out of the Univ. of Connecticut, Fortrino, whose signing got annullled in June. Hard to explain save for zero tolerance regarding unauthorized behaviors.
We have about 300 in the minor league system. They are not all alter boys. If they chose to be bad, they get treated like adults and get punished.
I’ve been watching the division with some interest Brian. How about and a lead in on the state of the NL Central……………. The Reds seem to be in a state of crisis. Walter J.’s exploration of “chemistry” seems to have hit a wall after the Rolens deal. I liked allot of the players that came and went, but the Rolens contract seems to be an attack on what? Dusty? The kids mental states? Bruce fell off the wagon and Votto burned out. Was that move aimed at them of the young pitchers? Is Jocetty going to be fired?
I haven’t studied the Reds closely as it is early in the off-season. I recall having heard something about a budget increase before, but now that they are flat. Dusty has another year so I see 2010 as a continuation of 2009 – an also-ran finish. They might trade Harang or Arroyo, but that is deck chair rearranging. They might be able to pass Houston for third, but so what? Jocketty isn’t going anywhere for a long time, I predict. There aren’t many GMs better connected to ownership than he.
It complicated when you can’t get people in the stadium. They live off of revenue sharing. Dusty’s recent comments show a frustration with the situation. Seems as though management was being very responsive to Walt’s lead. Now their pockets are empty. All they can do is wait for the dead pool to develop. Thats where DeWitt lives………… where the brand name has been destroyed.
I wonder if a new trend is on the rise. Luxury tax teams that live off the credible talent that is just left floating around. They have the draft picks, but can’t afford to sign them now. A new strategy, or are folks paying attention to the Rays?
With so much talent out there, why continue to speculate on Ludwick’s ability. In my opinion, it has more to do with setting precedent. Its the old, were ok, we are good judges of baseball talent. We’ve been giving you a good product ,etc. His position could easily be up graded this year at a savings. Pray for Mark Maguire finding inspiration.
The only one speculating on Luddy’s ability is you Westie. Go on record now, who can be signed for less that will out perform Ludwick next year?
Are you talking about outperforming 09 Luddy or 08 Luddy? And, ‘less’ than what?
Judging by Bernie M’s ‘Cards blew it on MH’ column, BD3′s speech was a success.
There trying to blame the Holiday failure on Albert’s silent withdrawal…………solid…………
Yeah, CC……….I’ll do it…….for free…………………….. If Shumaker’s wide open shoulder is an example of MM hitting method………..Ludwick is finished from the start anyway. I still think he is trade bait. Lets watch.
Luddy might be traded. Though if that happens that would assume that the Cards aren’t the only team that sees value in him. Kind of blows your theory. I would also be surprised to see it happen unless the Cards sign a FA hitter that cost $10 million +.
Its more likely to mid a mid size salary bail where the Cardinals pick up 3 or 4 large. What theory? Opposing pitchers thought Ludwick was a joke the way they attacked him.
“…..the front office has come to believe that the team is too reliant on home runs — on big swings — and has become prone to strikeouts and pop-ups in situations in which they might be well-served by a ground ball to the right side.”
Don’t fall off your chairs guys, that’s the Phillies on why they signed Polanco for 6/18 to play third and hit second. He hardly ever strikes out and is one of the best hit and run men in the game, so he’ll help maximize their speedy lead off guy. Oh, yeah, he’s a gold glover, although not at third. Meanwhile, the Cards are doing…what? Thinking about a lot of stuff other than how to push a few more runs accros in 2010 I bet. The same ESPN guy says DeRo wants 9/27.
Seems like the Cardinals are “blowing it” so far this off-season. There has already been a few signings that would have been good ones for the Redbirds. Polanco, Wagner, Saito come to mind and Figgins! is close (needs physical) to doing a deal with the M’s.
The Cards cannot do a lot right now, owing to uncertainties with Holliday and with Pujols. Also they need to wait to learn what Pineiro will do regarding the offer of arbitration.
Bernie is a blast! In June, he blasts the Cards for not trading Faberge eggs. Then they trade Wallace and Perez. And now Bernie announces that the Cards were stupid to have traded for Holliday since he costs too much. Consistency is not Bernie’s strong suit.
I agree chief, but offering Arb to DeRo and Piniero kind of tied their hands until Tuesday when thy know if they will be paying those guys next year. Having to wait around on Holiday adds to the problem. Hope they don’t get left in the dust, picking over the bone pile.
Here is a quote from Dayn Perry of Fox, who is obviously way smarter than Bernie at the post:
“The Cardinals could give the left-field job to Allen Craig or sign an underrated vet like Mike Cameron, but those moves — while defensible — might strike Pujols as half-measures. And souring “El Hombre” on the future of the organization is not something they can afford to do. So in terms of distinguishing themselves in a winnable division and satisfying Pujols, keeping Holliday in the fold is vital. Doing so makes them the heavy favorite in the NL Central and constitutes Step 1 toward making Pujols a Cardinal for life. For these reasons, St. Louis needs Holliday more than any other team.”
Congratulations to Alabama. RC must be feeling a little buzz.
How about Figgins pressuring the Angels. I’m watching that till the very end. What are they saving money for? Oh yeah!
Perry’s quote is good. On the other hand, DeWitt has already said the Cards will not be top bidder on Holliday.
Maybe DeWitt said this to fool other teams, but I doubt it. The only way Holliday returns is if this is what Holliday prefers more than money, because he can always get significantly more money from Boston. And if he wanted to stay in St Louis, he could have signed in November.
But the Cards have to try hard and find somebody to help Albert, assuming Holliday is on his way to Boston.
Don’t want to pay Albert only to see him walked whenever it matters.
Back to the issue of drug testing…..
Since thy added the GCL rung and maintained a team in Venezeula, the Cards have the largest minor league system within MLB and the most players. If they are among the leaders in drug violations, its no surprise, given the number of players.
Yes Ahmady was suspended by Fresno State U this spring. We can also recall that SS Brendan Ryan was booted off his NAIA team for undisclosed reasons. This lowered Brendan in the draft, enabling the Cards to get rights to sign him. The Cards are value shoppers and will take a flyer on a kid like Ahmady.
Now Ahmady has a choice. He has received a suspension. Is he going to straighten up and fly right? If he does not, he is unlikely to ever reach the majors. Its up to him, in future. Its not college anymore. If he does not play by the rules, the pros will give him the boot. The teams have way more players than they need. The cut lots of guys who do NOT use greenies, so imagine how easy it is to cut a re-offender. A word to the wise, Mr. Ahmady.
BB, the Cards will need to find a new cleanup hitter this off-season, unless Holliday thinks St Louis is the finest setting for baseball in the US.
16 players suspended in 5 years, is 3.2 per year. Given the Cards have the largest system, this may par for the course if normalized to a per minor league capita basis.
Considering the youthfullness of the players, and the pressure to outperform rivals, the numbers seem unbelievably low. I know its only those that get caught, but still, its a success rather than a problem.
Jumbo said; “Since thy added the GCL rung and maintained a team in Venezeula, the Cards have the largest minor league system within MLB and the most players.”
Why do you say the Cards have more players than the Mets, Mariners and Rays?
Brian, my suggested reasoning is within the sentence that you quote.
It has been claimed that the Cards have more minor league affiliates than any other system. This would include squads in Venezuela, the Dominican, the Gulf Coast, Appalachian, New York-Penn, Midwest, Florida State, Texas, and Pacific Coast, 9 minor league affiliates in all.
The Cards are unusual for bear the price of three US short-season squads.
The Rays may have a training camp in Brazil, a smart idea. This could add to their system, outside of a minor league. If the Mariners and Mets keep more athletes under contract, I am not aware of where they are all stashed.
Jumbo gets into trouble when he words his guesses as if they are fact. The other organizations I mentioned above are among the ones that also have nine affiliates. The Cardinals are not unique in that aspect. To then say the Cardinals have the most players is misleading at best and most likely not true.
So do you mean to imply 26 ML teams have fewer than 9 minor league affiliates, whereas the Cards, Mets, Mariners, and Rays are tied with 9?
Jumbo, while some of your past inaccurate assertions provided fodder for entire series of posts simply to debunk them, I am too busy today to do your research for you. I do stand behind what I have posted and believe it is very clear.
Brian, I look forward to when you have more time and can explain more.
Can anyone explain what this means, its from SI’s article on the BA list of best to worst farm systems:
“Years of conservative drafts have left Arizona painfully short on athletes”
Are they just talking about unsuccessful, or a failed strategy.? What is a ‘conservative draft’, and how would it be responsible for a shortage of athletes?
Easy BB………….pick conservatively………..offer conservatively…………sign concervatively…………
reap what you sow…………conservatively. This has your talent rated for its modesty.
BB, here’s the deal. Baseball America tends to celebrate high rolling draft choices. Its a scouting oriented publication. The drama is in teams “going over slot.” There is also drama in spending big money on a high school kid, always “toolsy” versus a player who has played a few years at the collegiate level.
I have not paid attention to Arizona drafts. They used to spend big on guys like Scherzer and an Upton. They traded for their CF from the White Sox and he has power/speed combo. Drew was an expensive signing too.
It must be in their minor leagues, BA does not think there are a lot of athletes with high physical upside.
This is an important question for the Cards, in the long run. They have drafted a few college players who on draft day did not sound like they had a lot of high ceiling upside. And then they have indeed turned out to be blah. One of the worst examples was in 2007, when the Phillies drafted a Stanford OF with big time ceiling, just after the Cards had wasted their 5th round pick on a fringy pitcher. The Cards have room to improve in some of their mid round draft picks.