The suspension will end Stroman’s 2012 season and keep him out for the beginning of 2013 as well.

After being selected with the 22nd pick in the first round of this year’s Major League Baseball draft, Stroman logged 19.1 innings between Low-A Vancouver and Double-A New Hampshire. His numbers from the two levels combined to form a respectable 3.26 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. He was believed to be a candidate for a September call-up when Major League rosters expand next week.

The MLB released the following statement on Stroman’s suspension.

Toronto Blue Jays Minor League right-handed pitcher Marcus Stroman has been suspended for 50 games without pay after testing positive for Methylhexaneamine.  The suspension of Stroman, who is currently on the roster of the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League, is effective immediately.

Stroman and the Blue Jays both released statements as well. Said Stroman,

“Despite taking precautions to avoid violating the Minor League testing program, I unknowingly ingested a banned stimulant that was in an over-the-counter supplement.  Nonetheless, I accept full responsibility and I want to apologize to the Toronto Blue Jays organization, my family, my teammates, and the Blue Jays fans everywhere.   I look forward to putting this behind me and rejoining my teammates.”

The Toronto Blue Jays’ Sr. Vice President Baseball Operations and General Manager Alex Anthopoulos’ statement read,

This suspension is unfortunate and we are disappointed by this development.  The Toronto Blue Jays however fully endorse the Major League Baseball’s drug testing policy and support the discipline taken today.

The Duke product announced on twitter that he is being promoted from the Blue Jays’ Low-A affiliate in Vancouver to their Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire, skipping the High-A affiliate altogether.

Stroman made his professional debut July 12 and struggled mightily in his first two appearances out of the bullpen, allowing an unsightly four earned runs over 1.2 innings. In his next 10 innings however, Stroman found his stride, not allowing a single run and surrendering just three hits while recording 13 strikeouts. That dominant streak is what earned him the promotion.

Widely viewed as the most Major League ready talent in the draft, Stroman is a real option for the Blue Jays in the bullpen once Major League rosters expand in September.

“Officially a member of THE Toronto Blue Jays! Signed my contract. Beyond excited and blessed. Ready to work! #BlueJays #HDMH #CANADA,” Stroman tweeted from his account @mstrooo7.

Stroman was selected by the Blue Jays with the 22nd pick in the first round of the MLB draft last month. Stroman was tabbed by many experts as being the most MLB ready pitcher in the draft.

There is suspicion that the Blue Jays could bring Stroman up to the Major Leagues as early this September as a reliever. The recommended contract for the 22nd pick in the draft this year was $1.8 million, but terms of the actual contract haven’t been disclosed yet. Just a few weeks ago, Toronto general manager Alex Anth0poulos expressed uncertainty as to whether he’d be able to sign Stroman, but clearly the two sides were able to reach a deal.

The Duke right-handed pitcher and junior was selected with the 22nd pick in this year’s MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Stroman is the first Blue Devil ever to be selected in the 1st round of the draft.

The Medford, N.Y. native earned All-ACC first team honors and All-American second team honors this season. As Duke’s Friday night starter he led the conference in innings with 98.0, putting up a 2.39 ERA and .231 opposing batting average. He led all the NCAA with 136 strikeouts, finishing with a rate of 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

At 5-foot-9, Stroman reportedly concerned some teams because of his small stature. But according to many scouting reports, he would be able to contribute in the major leagues this season as a reliever and possibly work out as a starter down the road.

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As recently as today Stroman was mocked to go #12 to the Mets by Sports Illustrated, but was projected to fall to #24 and be drafted by the Red Sox by Baseball America. However, BA’s Jim Callis admitted, “Stroman would have no business lasting this long.”

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus had the following to say about the Blue Devils’ standout pitcher:

The best bet to be the first from this year’s draft class to reach the big leagues. Stroman has been a starter at Duke, but scouts all talk about his stint as Team USA’s closer last summer, as at just 5-foot-9, few think he can handle a 200-inning workload. Out of the pen, his 95-97 mph fastball and plus-plus slider should work in the late innings, and in short order.

Stroman was selected to the All-America second team last month. The draft will begin at 7:00pm tonight.

Speaking with the Herald’s Joseph Goodman, Baron indicated that unless the Mariners could agree to a contract worth around $1.3 million, that he would likely decide to honor his commitment to play at Duke. Baron also added that Duke had raised the value of his scholarship offer to 90% of tuition.

The news that Duke has augmented its scholarship offer adds interesting wrinkle to the situation. Generally,  the dynamics of a draft negotiation between an MLB team and a committed high school prospect leave college programs powerless to influence negotiations, but Duke’s enhanced scholarship offer shows that the Blue Devils do have at least a limited amount of leverage in attempting to convince Baron to choose school over Seattle.

“I have until August 15 to negotiate, and we’ll see what happens,” Baron said.

Thursday, three more Duke players got the opportunity to pursue their dreams of making it to the majors.

Pitchers Chris Manno (38th round-Washington Nationals) and Michael Ness (47th round-San Francisco Giants), along with outfielder Tim Sherlock (40th round-Arizona Diamondbacks) were picked on Day 3 of the MLB Draft, bringing Duke’s total number of draftees to seven.

Both Manno and Ness were juniors this season, meaning that they have the option of signing a professional contract and joining their organizations or returning to Duke for their senior seasons. Junior outfielder/pitcher Alex Hassan, who was taken in the 20th round Wednesday by the Boston Red Sox, is in the same situation.

If Sherlock reaches the major leagues with the Diamondbacks, he will have the chance to join up with his father Glenn Sherlock, who is a bullpen coach for Arizona.  Duke’s best pitcher last season, senior Andrew Wolcott, was also selected by Arizona in the 17th round.

No new information is available regarding Duke’s three recruits–Steven Baron, Marcus Stroman and Cameron Coffey–who were drafted yesterday. Head coach Sean McNally said he was not surprised they had been drafted, but that he expected them to be at Duke in the Fall.

Complete list of drafted players and recruits:

Compensation Round A, #33: C Steven Baron, Seattle Mariners (recruit)

Round 8, #234: 1B Nate Freiman, San Diego Padres

Round 17, #516 : RHP Andrew Wolcott, Arizona Diamondbacks

Round 18, #532: SS Marcus Stroman, Washington Nationals (recruit)

Round 18, #560: C Matt Williams, Chicago Cubs

Round 20, #610: OF/RHP Alex Hassan, Boston Red Sox

Round 22, #656: LHP Cameron Coffey, Baltimore Orioles 

Round 38, #1132: LHP Chris Manno, Washington Nationals

Round 40, #1206: OF Tim Sherlock, Arizona Diamondbacks

Round 47, #1407: RHP Michael Ness, San Francisco Giants