Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reports that Puerto Rican shortstop prospect Delvin Perez has failed a drug test, explaining why he had fallen on many experts’ draft boards. ESPN’s Keith Law said he had heard the same, and added that the drug in question wasn’t marijuana. Heyman also notes that some teams believe Perez has character issues.
Perez, 17, was projected to be taken fifth overall by the Brewers by MLB.com and 13th to the Rays in Law’s mock draft. Perez helped his team win the championship at the Victor Pellot Excellence Tournament, batting .556 while leading in runs scored and RBI. Some have compared him to Astros shortstop Carlos Correa.