HOUSTON -- Right-hander David Paulino, ranked by MLBPipeline.com as the Astros' No. 3 prospect and the No. 44 prospect in the game, was suspended 80 games without pay on Saturday for testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
The 23-year-old Paulino, who made his Major League debut last year, was 2-0 with a 6.52 ERA in six starts for the Astros this season.
 
 
Astros pitcher David Paulino suspended 80 games for PED use
 
 
He gave up seven runs on seven hits in four innings against Oakland in his most recent outing, on Wednesday. Paulino would be ineligible for postseason play with the Astros should they qualify.
While at Double-A Corpus Christi last year, Paulino was suspended by the Astros for an undisclosed violation of team rules. This year, the Astros called him up on May 30, when Joe Musgrove went on the disabled list, and Paulino had been in the rotation since then because of a rash of injuries to Houston's rotation. Paulino made his big league debut last September, appearing in three games, including one start. He spent most of last year in the Minor Leagues and had a 2.00 ERA at three levels, splitting time between starting and relieving. The loss of Paulino punches another hole in the Astros' rotation. Ace Dallas Keuchel (neck discomfort), right-hander Charlie Morton (strained right lat) and right-hander Collin McHugh (posterior impingement in right elbow) are currently on the disabled list, though Morton is scheduled to return next week. The Astros acquired Paulino (the player to be named in the deal) along with outfielder Danry Vazquez from Detroit in exchange for veteran reliever Jose Veras on Sept. 13, 2013. The Astros released Vazquez last year when he was suspended indefinitely by the Commissioner's Office as a result of his arrest for an alleged domestic violence incident.
Brian McTaggart/ MLB.com 
 

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