Perez, Shelby Fail MLSB Drug Tests

A pair of draft prospects have tested positive during Major League Baseball’s Scouting Bureau’s pre-draft testing.

Industry sources have told Baseball America that shortstop Delvin Perez, the Puerto Rican shortstop who ranks No. 8 on the BA 500, failed the drug test administered by the Major League Scouting Bureau. Perez’s positive test was first reported by MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Kentucky third baseman/second baseman JaVon Shelby tested positive for Adderall, a stimulant that is classified as a performance enhancer.

Perez failed the test for an undisclosed performance-enhancer, according to sources. Perez has been linked to teams throughout the first 10 picks, as high as Cincinnati at No. 2 and also including the Brewers at No. 5, the Marlins at No. 7 and the White Sox at No. 10. A positive test does not affect a player’s eligibility to be selected.

What this will do to his draft position is still unclear. Conversations with multiple decision-makers found a majority expecting to see Perez still drafted in the first round, as many believed that at some point later in the first round, Perez’s talent will entice a team to try to nab him as a bargain. Such a decision would likely require a team that gets buy-in from its ownership, as such a decision would likely not be limited to the team’s baseball front office.

MLB tests the top 200 draft prospects with one random test in the leadup to the draft. Prospects who do not subject themselves to the drug testing are not eligible to be drafted.

Shelby ranked No. 260 on the BA500. Adderall is generally used as a treatment for ADHD, but it also is considered a performance-enhancer because it can improve a player’s focus. In the past, righthanders Jon Gray and Aaron Blair tested positive for Adderall before the 2013 draft. Phil Bickford tested positive for marijuana before the 2015 draft. In those three cases, the positive tests did not appear to significantly affect their draft stock. Because the tests are administered before the draft when the players are not professionals, they have not carried any post-signing penalties for the players.