May 7 (UPI) — Third baseman Colton Welker, one of the top prospects in the Colorado Rockies organization, received an 80-game suspension for a violation MLB’s joint drug prevention and treatment program, the league announced.
MLB and the Rockies announced Welker’s suspension Thursday. The league said he tested positive for the performance-enhancing substance Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, an anabolic steroid.
Welker denied “intentional ingestion” of the substance.
“I want to make it very clear that I have never willingly nor intentionally ingested any substance to enhance my athletic performance,” Welker said in a statement.
“Given the information provided to me by the Players Association and laboratory, the amount detected was so minimal that it would have no effect on enhancing my performance.
“I understand that a number of other players, like me, have tested positive for this metabolite at microscopic levels, and I intend to join them in seeking answers as to how this is happening in order to clear my name.”
The Rockies said they were “disappointed” to announce the suspension.
“The Rockies organization fully supports MLB’s drug prevention and treatment program, and we believe that Colton will learn from this experience,” the Rockies said in a news release.
MLB Pipeline lists Welker, 23, as the No. 11 prospect in the Rockies organization. He joined the team in the fourth round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Welker has a .313 batting average with 34 home runs and 204 RBIs in 330 games at the Minor League level.
He joined the Rockies 40-man big league roster after the 2020 season, but has yet to make his MLB debut. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, Fla.) graduate sustained a shoulder injury and hit .252 in 2019 for Double-A Hartford.
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