Braves’ Top Prospect Schafer Gets 50-Game Suspension

Posted Apr. 8, 2008 7:04 pm by J.J. Cooper
Filed under: Suspensions

The after effects of the Mitchell Report has snared the top prospect in the Braves system.
Center fielder Jordan Schafer became the first minor leaguer to be
suspended for using Human Growth Hormone, as Major League Baseball
announced on Tuesday afternoon that Schafer will be suspended for the
next 50 games. Schafer, who had been playing for Double-A Mississippi,
will begin serving the sentence immediately.
The Braves released a statement that seems to confirm that Schafer has accepted responsibility for the suspension.

"We are extremely disappointed that Jordan has violated the
Commissioner’s Performance Enhancing Drug Policy," Braves general
manager Frank Wren said in the statement. "We are supportive of the
program and will continue to educate all of our players. Earlier today
Jordan asked to speak to his teammates to apologize for the mistakes he
has made and for letting the organization and his team down. During his
suspension, we will continue to support and counsel Jordan."

Schafer, the Braves third-round pick in 2005, had emerged from
relative obscurity to become the Braves’ top prospect. He hit only
.240/.293/.376 at low Class A Rome in 2006, but he bounced back to lead
the minors in hits with 176 hits in 2007 in stops with high Class A
Myrtle Beach and Double-A Mississippi.
Schafer was a long-shot contender to break camp as the Braves
starting center fielder this year. Instead he was sent to Mississippi
for more seasoning, but he was already dealing with the possibility of
a suspension when the minor league season began.
According to one source with knowledge of the process, Major League
Baseball determined that Schafer had used Human Growth Hormone through
its new department of investigations, created in January in the wake of the Mitchell Report.