No position player in the Mariners system had a better 2017 season than Eric Filia. It's going to be a while before anyone gets to see what he can do for an encore in 2018.
The Mariners' No. 21 prospect was suspended for the first 50 games of the season after his second positive test for a drug of abuse, the Commissioner's Office announced Friday afternoon.A 20th-round pick out of UCLA in 2016, the 25-year-old outfielder jumped out of the gate in his first full season, hitting .326/.407/.434 with five homers, five triples and 28 doubles in 128 games at Class A Advanced Modesto in 2017. Those numbers earned him spots on the California League's end-of-season All-Star list as well as the MiLB.com's Mariners Organization All-Stars squad. He continued to rake in the Arizona Fall League, where he proved to be one of the prospect showcase's best hitters. Filia won the AFL batting title with a .408 average over 22 games with Peoria and also led the circuit in on-base percentage (.483), OPS (1.088) and hits (31).
The left-handed-hitting outfielder/first baseman was scheduled to begin 2018 at Double-A Arkansas and looked like one of the bright spots in a relatively weak Mariners system.
The Commissioner's Office announced three other suspensions for violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Cubs right-hander Wilfre Delgado and Red Sox right-hander Antonio Police received 72-game bans after positive tests for the performance-enhancing drugs Stanozolol and Boldenone, respectively, while free agent right-hander Joel Romero, who was released by the Mets on Oct. 12, will miss 80 games (once he signs with a new club) following a positive Stanozolol test. All three pitchers have played exclusively in the Dominican Summer League. Report: MiLB.com
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