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Rockies prospect suspended after testing positive for performance-enhancing drug

Welker, 23, has been ordered to serve an 80-game suspension.

DENVER — A third baseman in the Colorado Rockies' minor league system has been suspended for 80 games without pay after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, according to a release from Major League Baseball.

Colton Welker, 23, currently plays for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes and is on the Rockies' 40-man roster. He tested positive for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, or DHCMT, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, according to the release. 

The suspension is effective immediately.

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The Rockies issued the following statement in response to the news Thursday:

"The Colorado Rockies are disappointed to announce that infielder Colton Welker has tested positive for a substance banned under the terms of Major League Baseball’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program, resulting in his 80-game suspension. The Rockies organization fully supports MLB’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and we believe that Colton will learn from this experience."

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The Rockies drafted Welker out of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida in the fourth round of the 2016 Draft. Colorado added him to its 40-man roster following the 2020 season, according to MLB.com.

MLB Pipeline ranked Welker the number 11 prospect in the organization.

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