Ailing Watson suspended 50 games for drug violation

Shane Watson, image- Jay Floyd

On Friday, it was announced that injured Phillies pitching prospect Shane Watson would miss the opening 50 games of the 2015 season, after being served with a suspension as a result of testing positive for a banned substance.

Reports stated that the illegal substance was not a performance enhancer, but instead was a drug of abuse.

The 21-year-old right-hander, who recently announced his engagement to be married via his Twitter account, missed the entire 2014 season after undergoing shoulder surgery to repair an enlarged capsule last winter. Watson rehabbed this summer, but experienced a setback which was going to keep him out of action till next spring.

Watson's injured status will not impact his suspension. In fact, the required time off could force the young hurler to proceed at a much slower pace and could be good for his physical health in the long run.

Watson was chosen with the 40th overall pick by the Phillies in 2012. He sports a 4-7 record with a 4.44 ERA and a .227 batting average against in 21 professional games.

Prior to the 2014 season, Watson was ranked as the Phils' number 14 prospects by PhilliesNation.com.

Update: Watson responded to a request for comment via text message late Saturday morning. He did not wish to comment on the circumstances surrounding his suspension, but offered the following thoughts on his rehab process, which he is conducting under the Phillies' supervision in Florida:

"Nothing but good news (regarding my throwing shoulder) right now. I just have to remember there's no rush back and to take my time, but also push myself to the limit while giving myself enough rest."

The California native has been throwing from flat ground and is up to a distance of 75 feet, doing so every other day without discomfort.

Comments

PhoulBallz Interview: Reading second baseman Jesmuel Valentin

Jesmuel Valentin, image- Jay Floyd Switch-hitting infielder Jesmuel Valentin has been a bit of an underrated contributor with the Double-A Reading Fightins. Heading into action on Friday, Valentin was batting .339 over his last 14 games. Overall this season, the 22-year-old is batting .282 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games. Valentin, who plays mostly second base, but dabbles at shortstop a bit also, is the son of former big leaguer Jose Valentin . The Puerto Rico native was a supplementary round pick (51st overall) of the Dodgers in 2012. He was acquired by the Phils as part of the Roberto Hernandez trade in 2014. Recently, I spoke with Jesmuel about his team's success, growing up around the game and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -The Reading team has been great and you've contributed very nicely to the club's success. What are your thoughts on competition in the Eastern League this year? I just came here with the mindset that...

Catching prospect O'Hoppe tabbed to join Phillies

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and via my Patreon page . For a small monthly fee, your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this feature. Thank you. On Friday, the Phillies added a pair of catchers to their 2020 player pool. Minor leaguers Logan O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee) and Henri Lartigue arrived in Philadelphia to help catch bullpen sessions for the team's collection of approximately 30 pitchers. The call to O'Hoppe was extremely welcome as the 20-year-old had been staying as active as he possibly could, working out with other players that have been been waiting out quarantine due to the current pandemic at his home on Long Island. However, he had been very eager to step back onto an actual baseball field. "I just hope I can play soon. Where ever that is or whatever form that is, that'd be aw...

Chris Truby Speaks on Santana & Other BlueClaws Matters

On Monday, it was announced that the Astros selected outfielder Domingo Santana as the player to be named later in the late July trade that sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies. Santana, a Dominican born slugger, posted a .269 average with 7 HR and 32 RBI in 96 games with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. The 19-year-old is regarded as a five tool talent and has been ranked among the Phillies' top ten prospects by multiple national outlets. I had the opportunity to speak with Lakewood manager Chris Truby about Santana, the PTBNL list of five Phillies prospects that the Astros had to choose from, as well as other matters pertaining to the BlueClaws, as they enter the final few weeks of their regular season. Check out the media player below to hear the full interview. ______________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE . You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE .

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog