Highly regarded shortstop prospect Delvin Perez reportedly failed a drug test before Thursday’s MLB draft.
Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reported the news and said Perez, who was once a “potential top-five pick,” has “recently slid down draft boards” as a result.
Keith Law of ESPN.com confirmed the report but noted the drug Perez tested positive for has not been revealed, according to sources.
Law said that “MLB tests the top 200 draft prospects each year for various performance-enhancing drugs and drugs of abuse” and then gives the results to teams when they ask about certain players. However, testing positive does not impact a player’s eligibility to be drafted.
Law also pointed out that Dan Halem, MLB’s chief legal officer, did not comment because the league has an agreement in place with the players association that says drug tests on prospects are not to be publicized because the players are amateurs until they actually sign contracts.
According to Heyman, the 17-year-old Puerto Rican’s “glove is ahead of his bat” and he “has been compared to Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa.” As a result, teams that are picking as high as the Cincinnati Reds with the No. 2 selection have shown interest in the prospect, although this test will likely influence his draft stock.
Along those lines, John Manuel and J.J. Cooper of Baseball America cited “conversations with multiple decision-makers” and said many still think Perez will be selected during the first round because his talent will be too much to pass up, especially as a potential bargain late in the round.
Perez was the Most Valuable Player of the Victor Pellot Excellence Tournament after hitting .556 and leading his team to a title, per Heyman.
Before this news was released, Jim Callis of MLB.com had Perez going No. 5 overall to the Milwaukee Brewers in his June 3 mock draft.
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