HOUSTON ASTROS TOP 10 PROSPECTS
1. FORREST WHITLEY, RHP
AGE: 23. B-T: R-R. HT: 6-7. WT: 238. DRAFTED: HS—San Antonio, 2016 (1st round). SIGNED BY: Noel Gonzales-Luna.
TRACK RECORD: It’s hard to know what to make of Whitley at this point. Drafted 17th overall out of high school in 2016, he ranks as the Astros’ No. 1 prospect for the fourth straight season and has not yet made his major league debut. Whitley ranked as the No. 10 prospect in baseball entering the 2018 season, coming off a year in which he reached Double-A as a 19-year-old. In 2018, Whitley missed the start of the season with a 50-game suspension due to a positive test for a performance-enhancing drug. He then threw just 26 innings in the regular season because he missed time with oblique and lat muscle injuries before returning for an impressive Arizona Fall League. His 2019 was ugly, with a double-digit ERA in Triple-A and command and shoulder issues, though he did throw well again in the AFL. Whitley opened 2020 at spring training, where his velocity was a bit down. Once he got ramped up at the alternate training site, he was regularly in the mid 90s. He was dominating in his last outing before he left with elbow pain and was shut down the rest of the year.
Heading into 2021, it has now been three full seasons since Whitley pitched like a future ace back in 2017. He has flashed upside in the interim, but the red flags are whipping harder than ever. At his best, Whitley has pitched at 92-97 mph and hit 99. He mixes in a
