Kuzul

It’s been a rough week for the Tampa Bay Rays, and it’s only Tuesday.

Earlier today we learned that Evan Longoria could miss six to eight weeks after injuring his hamstring during an awkward slide on Monday night. 

And now it’s being reported by Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that Triple-A shortstop Tim Beckham, the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2008, has been suspended for 50 games after violating the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program for a second time.

When a suspension of this nature occurs, the first thought shouldn’t regard the state of the team. Rather, it should be about Beckham and his well being. In my opinion, testing positive for the second time is a clear indication that there’s a great problem at hand. Who knows, but perhaps this is an issue that has impacted his disappointing ascent through the Minor Leagues.

Ranked as the Rays’ No. 10 prospect by Prospect Pipeline, Beckham was in the midst of his first full season at Triple-A Durham. However, the 22-year-old was on the seven-day disabled list and hadn’t played in a game since April 19.  Before the injury—and now 50-game suspension—he was batting .204/.290/.278 with three extra-base hits (no home runs) and four RBI. He had struck out in 13 of 54 at-bats.

At the major League level, the Rays’ production at shortstop has been lackluster to say the least. While Sean Rodriguez may offer speed and above-average defense, he continually struggles at the dish, as evidenced by his 50 wRC+ through his first 76 plate appearances.

Reid Brignac, his backup, has struggled mightily in limited playing time, posting a -20 wRC+ through 18 plate appearances.

Therefore, Beckham’s suspension makes the Rays’ shortstop situation even bleaker, and drastically alters the organizational depth chart at the position.

Next up is Hak-Ju Lee, who may one day become a solid major league shortstop, but is only batting .248/.315/.327 at Double-A Montgomery.

Beyond that, the Rays’ only shortstop prospects are Derek Dietrich (.263/.355/.388) at High-A and Jake Hager (.200/.250/.243) at Class A—neither of which are remotely close to performing at the major league level.

With Longoria out for a significant period of time, the Rays will have to do something to improve the production from their left side of the infield.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Tim Beckham of the Tampa Bay Rays has been suspended 50 games for his second violation for a drug of abuse under the Minor League drug program (via MLB.com).

The former No. 1 pick in the 2008 draft, Beckham was hitting just .204 in 13 games for Durham, the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate.

After being drafted out of his high school in Georgia, he was largely considered the top talent available in 2008.

That has since changed, seeing as Pedro Alvarez, Eric Hosmer, Buster Posey and Brett Lawrie were all drafted after him.

He has not performed nearly as well as the team expected, putting together a line of .263/.330/.379 over five seasons in various different levels of the Rays’ system.

Rays’ executive vice president of operations, Andrew Friedman, had this to say about the suspension via MLB.com: “We are very disappointed by Tim’s actions. Tim possesses great potential, and he must rededicate himself in order to become the person and player we know he can be.”

Beckham also commented on the suspension in a statement released by the organization:

I regret that my poor judgment resulted in me letting my teammates and the Tampa Bay Rays organization down. I take full responsibility for my actions and I will use this experience to refocus my commitment to baseball. I recognize that I am blessed to be able to play baseball for a living. I owe it to my teammates, my family, and to myself to respect the game and the responsibilities that go with playing it as a professional. I am sorry.

Although the Rays are generally very successful at developing minor league talent, Beckham is not the only prospect to experience off-the-field issues in his time with the team.

Converted reliever Matt Bush was drafted as a shortstop by the Padres in 2004 and is currently dealing with charges related to a DUI and a hit-and-run (via AOL Sporting News).

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Tampa Bay Rays minor-league outfielder Tim Beckham has been suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games for drug issues, according to Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and also confirmed by a tweet from MLB.

The 50-game suspension comes as a result of a second violation for abuse.

Beckham, who was the Rays’ No. 1 overall selection in the 2008 MLB draft, was recently playing for Triple-A Durham and was not listed on the 40-man roster. 

As Baseball Prospectus writer Kevin Goldstein tweets, it’s important that Beckham wasn’t on the 40-man roster because if he was, MLBPA drug testing doesn’t include marijuana. If he was on the roster, he would still be eligible to play and possibly get called up relatively soon, tweets Topkin.

Beckham was hitting .204/.290/.278 with six runs, two doubles, a triple and one stolen base in 13 games this season with the Durham Bulls.

He’s never hit over .275 in his professional career and now continues to be a disappointment off of the field.

Beckham said in a statement, as Topkin tweeted, “I regret that my poor judgment resulted in me letting my teammates and the Tampa Bay Rays organization down.”

The Tampa Bay Rays now have an off-field issue with another young prospect; Josh Hamilton being the other.

Will Tim Beckham ever get past his off-field issues and be the star that the Tampa Bay Rays once thought he could be?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com