Phillies’ Rule 5 Pick Stumpf Suspended

Daniel Stumpf, a Rule 5 draft pick by the Phillies from the Royals in December, was handed an 80-game suspension Thursday by Major League Baseball after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, a steroid.

 

Stumpf made the Phillies’ roster on the strength of a spring in which he struck out 14 batters in 12 1/3 innings against two walks. He had pitched three times in the majors, allowing three runs in two-thirds of an inning. Stumpf’s low 90s fastball and slider are excellent against lefties–he held them to a .151/.272/.236 average (16-for-126 with 17 BB and 40 Ks) in 2015.

He struggles much more against righthanders and his control is at times shaky. Stumpf’s suspension marks the second year in a row at least one lefty specialist grabbed in the Rule 5 draft has been penalized for drugs.

 

A year ago, Andrew McKirahan of the Braves was suspended 80 games for using Ipamorelin, which releases growth hormone. He had been selected off the Cubs’ roster by the Marlins, then taken off waivers by Atlanta when he failed to make Miami’s roster.

And Mariners lefthander David Rollins, a Rule 5 pick from the Astros, was suspended 80 games last March after testing positive for Stanozolol.