Padres bonus baby gets second drug failure

[southsider2k5]

And FWIW, read the list of their top picks. Ew.

 

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/ju...ended-50-games/

 

Padres minor leaguer Tate suspended 50 games

By Bill Center

Originally published 2:39 p.m., June 28, 2011, updated 6:02 p.m., June 28, 2011

A smiling Donavan Tate (center) watched the game at Petco Park after signing with the Padres. (Associated Press)

A smiling Donavan Tate (center) watched the game at Petco Park after signing with the Padres. (Associated Press)

 

Padres General Manager Jed Hoyer said Tuesday afternoon that the club is “not ready to throw in the towel” on Donavan Tate, the third overall pick in the 2009 draft.

 

But Hoyer said the 50-game suspension that Tate received for testing positive a second time for a banned substance better serve as a “wake-up call.”

 

“Obviously, this is disappointing,” said Hoyer. “He has never really gotten his career on track. We still have hopes for Donavan. But he has to get his act together. This needs to be a wake-up call.”

 

Tate received a record $6.25 million signing bonus from the Padres. The son of former NFL running back Lars Tate, Donavan Tate was a two-sport standout at Cartersville (Ga.) High.

 

But his professional baseball career has been stymied by a series of injuries, some baseball related.

 

“He’s taken ownership of this,” said Hoyer. “We’re far from moving on.”

 

Although Tate was suspended for 50 games for violating Major League Baseball’s drug prevention and treatment program, he will serve only a 25-game suspension.

 

Soon after the results of the test came out positive, Tate entered a drug counseling program in Arizona, where he was rehabbing at the Padres’ year-round training facility. He is being given a 25-game credit for entering the program.

 

This was Tate’s second positive test. Major League Baseball does not announce the first positive tests of minor leaguers, although Hoyer confirmed that the first positive test came since he became GM in 2009.

 

The Padres would not identify the banned substance, although a club source said it was recreational. Sources said it was a form of marijuana.

 

Tate failed the test in Arizona shortly after he had been re-assigned from Single-A Fort Wayne to rehab a knee bruise suffered in an April 11 outfield collision with Everett Williams, the Padres’ second-round pick in the same 2009 draft.

 

“When he was in Arizona attending to the knee, part of that time was spent in a program,” said Padres assistant GM Jason McLeod.

 

“We’re doing everything we can to get Donavan all the help he needs, just like we would with any player,” continued McLeod. “That’s about all I can say.”

 

Tate’s 25-game suspension began Tuesday. The 20-year-old center fielder was playing at short-season Single-A Eugene (Ore.). Tate was hitting .286 with the Emeralds with a .340 on-base percentage in 55 plate appearances.

 

The Padres had said Tate was soon scheduled to return to Fort Wayne, where he was off to a 6-for-19 start before the collision with Williams. But the club also knew the suspension was pending.

 

Even before he played his first professional game, Tate suffered an abdominal injury that was likened to a sports hernia. During the 2009-2010 offseason, Tate was injured in an ATV accident. Still rehabbing from the ATV accident, Tate suffered a concussion while diving for a ball during spring training in 2010 and later missed time with a viral ailment and a thumb injury.

 

Tate was limited to 25 games in the Arizona Rookie League in 2010, where he hit .222 in 90 at-bats. But he earned a promotion to Fort Wayne with an MVP season in the Arizona Instructional League last fall.

 

“He has played well in spurts when he’s been on the field,” Hoyer said of Tate.

 

But Tate hasn’t been on the field. In almost exactly two years since he has signed, Tate has a total of 184 plate appearances. The Padres’ top pick of 2011, Cory Spangenberg, already has 50 plate appearances with Eugene.

 

“You want your players playing,” Padres manager Bud Black said of the Tate situation. “This is a big interruption in his development.”

 

Tate is the latest in a long line of troubled first-round draft picks by the Padres. Of the seven top choices from 2004-10, just two reached the majors (both for a very short time), and only Tate and oft-injured pitcher Nick Schmidt are still in the organization. Compare that to the Kansas City Royals, who have seven of their former first-round picks on the 25-man roster, including four regular position players plus a member of the rotation.

 

Working backward from Spangenberg, the Padres top picks have been:

 

2010 – Pitcher Karsten Whitson (didn’t sign). 2009 – Tate. 2008 – First baseman Allan Dykstra (arrived with hip problem, traded to Mets this spring). 2007 – Pitcher Nick Schmidt (still in system). 2006 – Second baseman Matt Antonelli (released). 2005 – Pitcher Cesar Carrillo (released). 2004 – Infielder Matt Bush (first overall, released).

[ChiSox_Sonix]

Working backward from Spangenberg, the Padres top picks have been:

 

2010 – Pitcher Karsten Whitson (didn’t sign). 2009 – Tate. 2008 – First baseman Allan Dykstra (arrived with hip problem, traded to Mets this spring). 2007 – Pitcher Nick Schmidt (still in system). 2006 – Second baseman Matt Antonelli (released). 2005 – Pitcher Cesar Carrillo (released). 2004 – Infielder Matt Bush (first overall, released).

 

OUCH.

[Balta1701]

OUCH.

That's clearly Kenny Williams's fault.