Houston Astros Top Ten Prospects For 2017

5. Forrest Whitley, RHP

Birthdate: 9/15/97 (19 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: rookie
Stats in 2016: 18 2/3 IP, 4.82 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 7.41 BB%, 32.1 K%

Whitley is a giant of a young man at 6’7 and a listed 240 pounds, though he could be even larger from reports and my views of him. While that means there probably isn’t much physical projection left to Whitley, that’s not exactly a bad thing.

The Astros selected Whitley 17th overall this past June out of high school in Texas, and he only lasted that long after it came out fairly early that he wanted “big money” to sign if he was selected, so once he made it out of the top 10 picks, that “big money” was going to be a stretch for teams.

Whitley uses his size to generate an elite mix of pitches

Whitley uses his size to generate an elite mix of pitches, with a fastball that works from 91-95 and touches 98-99 with some cut action on the pitch as it sits and some sink when he peaks his velocity.

He works with a pair of very solid breaking pitches. His curve is a power curve that blends into his hard slider. At times, it did get difficult to distinguish the two, but both work very well, so that isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but having that fourth pitch is an asset as he moves up the chain.

His change is a quality pitch, but he doesn’t have the level in confidence to throw it well, and he gets into a bad habit of “aiming” the pitch, which steals its effectiveness.

Whitley will likely see the low-A level by the end of 2017 as long as he can continue to show solid mechanics with his big body, but that is one concern that hadn’t been exhibited but sat in the back of the mind of many I talked with – can he keep his delivery and conditioning?

Next: #4