Blue Jays: Prospect Griffin Conine suspended for violating MiLB policy

In shocking news, Griffin Conine, a top prospect in the Blue Jays organization, has been suspended by MiLB.

According to multiple insiders, including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, Baseball Toronto’s Keegan Matheson, and MLB Pipeline, Blue Jays outfield prospect Griffin Conine has been suspended for 50 games for “violating the minor-league drug prevention & treatment program”. According to Nicholson-Smith, he “tested positive for Ritalinic Acid”,  a stimulant.

The MiLB transactions page for the Northwest League notes that the Canadians have placed him on the restricted list, while Conine’s MiLB player page alludes to the same thing. An official MLB release confirmed the suspension.

Conine, 21, was drafted in the second round of this year’s MLB Amateur Draft and slashed a solid .243/.314/.430 in 57 games, mostly spent with the Short Season-A Vancouver Canadians. He also added seven home runs, five stolen bases and 25 runs scored to his totals.

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Unfortunately for Conine, a native of Plantation, Florida, this suspension will likely cause his stock as a prospect to fall considerably. Prior to the suspension, he was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the organization’s 12th best prospect, immediately jumping on the list right after being drafted. The list has, as of this writing, not been updating to reflect the impact of the suspension.

A product of Duke University, Conine will, as Keegan Matheson aptly notes, face the same obstacle Marcus Stroman, another Duke product, faced shortly after making his pro debut. Conine’s career is by no means “derailed”, but he’ll have some work to do before returning to pro ball.

Regardless, we’ll continue to monitor this situation, as it’ll be interesting to see the young Conine when he returns to baseball action a little later on in the season.