Oakland A's Starter Frankie Montas Suspended 80 Games for PEDs

One of the best young pitchers in all of baseball in the middle of a breakout season will have to miss essentially the rest of the season after being caught using performance-enhancing drugs.

Oakland Athletics starter Frankie Montas, currently sporting a 9-2 record and a 2.70 ERA in 15 starts this season, has been been suspended 80 games for Ostarine, a PED.

What is Ostarine?

The substance in question is used in body building to increase muscle mass -- this is about as cut-and-dried as a steroid can get. It's used for exactly what you likely assumed prior to opening this article. Additionally, it's known for mimicking testosterone production, adding additional manufactured testosterone-lite on top of what the body produces naturally.

Montas has released the following statement on the suspension, via the Players Association.

Montas was a former top prospect with the White Sox who was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the deal that brought Todd Frazier to Chicago, and was then subsequently flipped to Oakland in the same trade that sent Josh Reddick and Rich Hill out west.

Frankie Montas Stats

After struggling with command and consistency, Montas had exploded this season, striking out 97 in 90 innings while walking only 21. 9-2, 2.70 looks mighty nice. With Sean Manaea out, Montas was clearly Oakland's best starter this year, and was likely ticketed for the All-Star Game.

Following Montas' breathtakingly dumb move, a playoff team in need of pitching just lost their ace for the majority of the season. Furthermore, Montas' reputation will forever be tarnished.