Forrest Whitley more than proved his mettle in spring training.
But it wasn’t enough to open the regular season with the Houston Astros.
The 6-foot-7 Whitley, the Astros’ first-round pick in 2016, was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land despite having success in camp.
Just because Whitley is starting in Triple-A doesn’t mean he’ll end up there. The Astros want Whitley to build up his pitch count and he’ll have that opportunity in the Minors.
Whitley, the Astros’ No. 21-ranked prospect, threw 38 of 57 pitches for strikes in 2 2/3 innings Saturday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“My goal this camp was to come and fill it up,” Whitley told reporters. “I didn’t think I was going to be extremely sharp. The first five, six weeks of camp you’re trying to get all your off-speed stuff in, your changeup in. You’re trying to get all the movement profiles back to normal. Just being able to fill it up at this point is awesome.”
Whitley has been throwing his fastball between 95-96 miles-per-hour on a consistent basis.
“This is the best velocity I’ve brought into camp in my career, and I’m fired up about that,” he said.
Whitley had previously thrown only 237 innings in his Minor League career because of a roller coaster of events which included a suspension, the COVID-19 pandemic and a litany of injuries, including Tommy John surgery two years ago.
Whitley finally appears rested, ready and focused. These are all great signs for the Astros.
More must-reads: