Houston Astros Prospect Whitley Makes First Triple-A Start Since 2019

Houston Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley was activated Monday from the 7-day injured list by Triple-A Sugar Land. The righty embarked on his first Triple-A start since 2019, and it was not one to remember.

Whitley worked 2 2/3 innings, yielding six earned runs on five hits and two walks. Punching out four batters, the righty's line should take a deeper look.

After two quick outs in the top of the second, Whitley surrendered a double to El Paso Chihuahuas' center fielder Luis Liberato before hitting the next batter — Taylor Kohlwey — on a 1-1 count.

With two outs, Whitley induced a ground ball off the bat of Luis Campusano who reached first on a fielder's choice. Shortstop Alex De Goti flipped to second baseman Franklin Barreto on a routine force out but was not quick enough to get Kohlwey, while Campusano lightly jogged down the line.

Brent Rooker stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, slashing the Chihuahuas' one of two grand slams on the night on the first pitch he saw. Whitley wasn't helped on a play after as a ground ball to third baseman Taylor Jones' left side went under his glove, granting two bases to Eguy Rosario.

Pitching only from the stretch, Whitley ended the night on 67 pitches, 43 of them for strikes. Averaging 95 mph on his four-seam fastball, the righty touched 96 mph, generating 10 whiffs on the night — second best to teammate JP France who had 13 in relief.

Opposing batters averaged an exit velocity of 86 mph, maxing out at 108.1 mph — Liberato's second-inning double.

Whitley’s previous outing came with Single-A Fayetteville — his second for the Woodpeckers. The 24-year-old hurled three-perfect innings on 37 pitches, 24 of them for strikes.

Whitley punched out five batters in that span, pitching only from the stretch. Ranging 95-97 mph on his fastball, his changeup and curveball were alive and well in his arsenal.

The right-hander made his first start for the Woodpeckers on June 22, tossing two scoreless innings. Behind two strikeouts, Whitley allowed two base runners via an error from shortstop Leosdany Molina and a line-drive single from Augusta GreenJackets’ Brandon Parker.

He threw 38 pitches in his first rehab start for the Florida Complex League Astros, yielding three runs on three hits and two walks to his two strikeouts. The Astros announced Whitley averaged 96 mph on his fastball in his first start.

Prior to Monday, Whitley last pitched in Triple-A in 2019 for Round Rock where he sported a 12.21 ERA over 24 1/3 innings pitched. Following a canceled 2020 season, Whitley missed all of the 2021 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery.

More around the Minors

The Astros named right-handed pitcher Jaime Melendez the Minor League Pitcher of the Month and outfielder Logan Cerny the Minor League Player of the Month for the organization Friday.

Melendez entered June with 7.81 ERA and 28 walks to his 37 strikeouts from April and May for Double-A Corpus Christi. Seeing his worst performances behind him, the righty allowed only five runs across 22⅓ innings last month, punching out a career-high 31 batters on the month to his nine walks.

With an improved 5.22 ERA, Melendez is bolstering his chances of seeing Triple-A ball in 2022 as injuries hold out starters Shawn Dubin and Jonathan Bermudez for the Space Cowboys.

The return in the Garrett Stubbs’ trade, Cerny earned Carolina League Player of the Week honors June 13 after hitting .476 with three home runs and 13 RBI over five games the week prior. The righty finished the month slashing .326/.412/.573 with five home runs, 27 RBI and 11 stolen bases.

"(Cerny's) swing is a little more compact not as long as before," Woodpeckers hitting coach Jose Puentes said. "He’s swinging at better pitches and not chasing as much."

Ranking top-10 in home runs, RBI and extra-base hits in the Carolina League, the 22-year-old is on his best stretch of professional baseball for Single-A Fayetteville since he was drafted last summer.