FILE PHOTO
Swampscott’s Ryan January will miss the first 50 games of the minor league baseball season.
Five minor league baseball players, including Swampscott’s Ryan January, have been suspended following alleged violations of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
January, a catcher, who was taken in the eighth round of the Major League baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, has has received a 50-game suspension without pay after testing positive for an amphetamine, a stimulant on the list of banned substances, according to the office of baseball commissioner Rob Manfred. The suspension of January, who is currently on the roster of the rookie-level Missoula, Mont., Osprey of the Pioneer League, will be effective at the start of the season.
In 51 games in Missoula last year, January, who is 19, batted .273. However, he showed good power with the Osprey, with 10 homers. He also knocked in 26 runs, had an on-base percentage of .376, a slugging percentage of .470, making his OPS .846.
January had a fielding percentage of .981, making six errors in 38 games behind the plate. He was a Pioneer League midseason All-Star last summer.
January, a lefthanded hitter, is 26th among players in on the Diamondbacks’ top prospects list. A scouting report on him said, “his pop from the left side of the plate is his best offensive tool and he was able to get to it fairly consistently with Missoula, even hitting four long balls in August as he tired out a bit.
“He played regularly behind the plate with Missoula and is eager to show he can stick there,” the report said. “He does have a strong arm, but the rest of his defensive game needs refinement.
The report also suggested that January “might be athletic enough to handle an outfield corner or a move to first, where his bat could profile well.”
Last year in junior college with the San Jacinto Gators, January hit .370 with five home runs, a team-high 11 doubles and 24 RBI during the regular season. He then hit a tournament-high four home runs during the JUCO World Series in June.