FORREST WHITLEY RHP, ASTROS
RANK: 4. PRESEASON: 5.
Whitley opened the season as the top pitching prospect in the game and entered the halfway point in the middle of one of the most disappointing seasons by someone on the Top 100.
Before landing on the injured list with shoulder fatigue, Whitley made eight appearances (five starts) at Triple-A Round Rock and went 0-3, 12.21 with 29 strikeouts, 15 walks and nine home runs allowed in 24.1 innings.
Beyond the poor results, evaluators have consistently said that the 21-year-old Whitley, who began the year as the youngest player in the Pacific Coast League, had displayed enough immaturity on the mound that it has blurred his still-bright ceiling.
“His stuff was way down. In spring training, I saw a lot of stuff to like,” one scout said. “He looked great and like he was ready, and the kid I saw (in that start) was a kid.”
After a rough go in the hitter-friendly PCL, Whitley was sent back to the Astros’ minor league complex to get back on track. Once he returns, Whitley, a first-round pick in 2016, will need to do a lot of work to erase the poor first impression he made
