2. Forrest Whitley, Houston Astros
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 9/15/1997 (20)
2018 level: Suspended
Info: Drafted in 2016 in the middle of the first round after he’d taken off a bunch of bad weight in the offseason before his senior season, Whitley absolutely dominated his pro debut.
The Astros wanted to take things wise with their 6’7″ righty, so they sent the teen to low-A to open 2017, but he simply improved at every level he ascended in 2017, improving his walk rate in high-A and then improving his ability to miss barrels in AA to finish off the season. There were big, big expectations for Whitley, and he was hoping to show out in spring training to possibly earn a AAA assignment at just 20.
Instead, Whitley made the mistake of using a banned stimulant, and he was incredibly apologetic and accepted responsibility for his actions. He will miss the first 50 games of the season, however, and most likely, he’ll open in AA, hoping to reach AAA by the end of the year now, which is certainly a disappointment for Whitley.
At his best, Whitley has a fastball that he can add and take away, sitting around 94, but sometimes working more 91-93 and sometimes working 95-96, touching 97 on his top end with excellent ability to generate plane and deception from his over-the-top arm slot.
Whitley’s slider has incredible late break, and his curve has huge break, but has the look of his fastball for just long enough to leave hitters absolutely stumped at the plate. He began to throw a change at the end of 2017 that was easily a plus pitch, diving at the toes of righty hitters with its late movement.
While nearly no one wants to say “ace” when projecting a pitcher for obvious health risk reasons, Whitley had plenty in the offseason making an argument for him as the top prospect in the entire game. He should be fun to track this season.
1. Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 7/5/1994 (23)
2018 level: MLB Los Angeles Angels
Info: Simply the most-hyped prospect to enter the game since…well…perhaps ever, Ohtani has been a player who was considered an instant member of MLB top prospects the second he signed since he was in his mid-teens. Now 23, fully physically developed, and with an arsenal on the mound to match, he’s easily the top guy on this list.
fully physically developed, and with an arsenal on the mound to match, (Ohtani)’s easily the top guy on this list
Ohtani originally asked Japanese teams to allow him to come to the United States out of high school, but he was drafted, meaning his rights were “owned” by an NPD team, so he took his place in the league, simply dominating hitters as a 19, 20, and 21 year old as he filled out his 6’4″ frame.
While Ohtani has incredible power at the plate as well, it’s on the mound where he has the highest ceiling, and it’s not because of his triple-digit velocity, though that certainly doesn’t hurt. It is the use of five or six pitches, all of which are at least above-average, that give him the ceiling to be a dominant ace.
His best pitch, which has been labeled by some as a splitter, by others as a forkball, is easily his best pitch, able to add and subtract velocity on the pitch, and dial up low-90s velocity on the pitch on the top end while repeating his fastball delivery perfectly, leaving hitters looking foolish as the pitch dives late in its path to the plate.
Ohtani will have his growing pains in the major leagues for certain, but he’s shown plenty of ability to bounce back from growing pains in his career, and he could be an absolute star in the league with his ability to be a top rotation starter and hit a few days each week.
Next: On the rise