FORREST WHITLEY NEWS

Heads back to minors The Astros optioned Whitley to Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Impact Whitley allowed two unearned runs while striking out five over 2.2 innings in a couple appearances this week. He threw 48 pitches in Wednesday's blowout loss to the Reds, so the Astros will swap him out for a fresh arm.

SEPTEMBER 5 • ROTOWIRE

Up with big club The Astros recalled Whitley from Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday.

Impact Whitley will receive his first look in the majors since mid-April, when he allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning during his MLB debut. The right-hander has been an effective bullpen piece at Sugar Land this season with a 2.17 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 40:9 K:BB across 29 innings.

SEPTEMBER 1 • ROTOWIRE

Up with big club The Astros recalled Whitley from Triple-A Sugar Land on Sunday.

Impact Whitley will receive his first look in the majors since mid-April, when he allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless two-thirds of an inning during his MLB debut. The right-hander has been an effective bullpen piece at Sugar Land this season with a 2.17 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 40:9 K:BB across 29 innings.

SEPTEMBER 1 • ROTOWIRE

Activated from minor-league IL Whitley (elbow) was reinstated from the minor-league injured list Sunday, returning to Triple-A Sugar Land's roster, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Impact Whitley will be back with the active roster at Triple-A following a nearly two-month absence with right elbow soreness. The 26-year-old has made five appearances with Sugar Land in 2024, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight batters over five innings. Whitley will look to get into a groove at Triple-A in order to potentially earn a promotion to the major-league roster down the road.

JUNE 23 • ROTOWIRE

Resumes throwing at Triple-A Whitley (elbow) has resumed a throwing program at Triple-A Sugar Land, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Impact Whitley landed on the 7-day injured list at Sugar Land in late April with a sore right elbow but is finally ramping things back up. He most recently threw a 20-pitch live batting practice session, so the right-hander wouldn't appear too far off from a return.

JUNE 3 • ROTOWIRE

Injury not expected to be serious Astros manager Joe Espada said Saturday that Whitley's right middle finger injury "doesn't look like it's something significant," Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Impact Whitley wasn't able to throw a scheduled bullpen session Saturday because of soreness in the finger. He's been sent for testing, but the expectation seems to be that this won't be a long-term absence. Injuries are unfortunately nothing new for Whitley, who was limited to just 30 innings in 2023 with a lat strain.

FEBRUARY 25 • ROTOWIRE

May serve as reliever once healthy Astros general manager Dana Brown confirmed Sunday that Whitley (lat) could be an option to join the major-league squad as a reliever once he's healthy and activated from Triple-A...

Impact Though he's been regarded as one of the Astros' top pitching prospects for more than a half decade, Whitley has yet to make his MLB debut, with multiple setbacks on the health front having stalled his development. Now on the mend from a right lat strain that's expected to keep him shelved for around 3-to-4 months, Whitley likely won't have enough time to get stretched back out for a starting role at Triple-A even if he meets the short end of that recovery timeline. The Astros still believe the 25-year-old right-hander possesses the sort of arsenal that can make him an effective weapon out of the bullpen, so if he's quickly able to reclaim command and velocity upon returning from the injury, he could make his long-awaited MLB debut at some point during the final month of the season.

JUNE 4, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

With latest injury, Forrest Whitley's future with the Astros becomes even murkier Whitley was once baseball's best pitching prospect, but injuries and other problems have him still hoping to make the majors at 25.

JUNE 3, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Chandler Rome: Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley will... - The Athletic Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley will miss three to four months with his right lat strain, the team announced on Friday. Whitley las...

JUNE 2, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

To miss 3-to-4 months Whitley (lat) is expected to miss 3-to-4 months, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Impact Whitley was placed on the injured list last week at Triple-A Sugar Land after suffering a right lat strain, and now the Astros have provided an estimated recovery timetable for the oft-injured 25-year-old former top prospect. He'll be sidelined through at least the early part of August.

JUNE 2, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

MLB prospect intel: Scouts on Tink Hence, Jett Williams and more minors info Plus notes on Elly De La Cruz (Reds), Forrest Whitley (Astros) and Isaac Coffey (Red Sox).

MAY 30, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Lands on injured list Whitley (lat) was placed on the minor-league injured list Sunday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Impact The Astros announced Sunday that Whitley is out indefinitely due to a right lat strain, so his move to the injured list is a procedural move. The right-hander made eight appearances (six starts) at Triple-A Sugar Land prior to his injury and posted a 5.70 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 30 innings. Manager Dusty Baker recently indicated that Whitley was in consideration to join the major-league club, but the 25-year-old will now shift his focus toward his rehab process.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Shut down with lat strain The Astros announced Sunday that Whitley is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a right lat strain, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Impact The injury is the latest in a long string of health-related setbacks for the star-crossed Whitley, who has yet to make his MLB debut despite being a fixture on top prospect lists since he was selected by the Astros in the first round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft. Whitley's lat strain comes at an especially inconvenient time for the Astros, as manager Dusty Baker acknowledged that the right-hander was in consideration to join the big club as a potential sixth starter after Houston recently began a stretch of 17 games in as many days, per Lerner. If the Astros do decide to incorporate a sixth starter into the mix, Whitley's Triple-A rotation mate, Ronel Blanco, now looks to be next in line for a call-up.

MAY 28, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

More shoulder issues at Triple-A Whitley was removed from Thursday's start at Triple-A Sugar Land with discomfort in his right shoulder, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Impact The Astros are saying his removal was precautionary, but Whitley just recently missed a couple weeks of action with shoulder issues and he ended last season with a shoulder problem, as well. Whitley has been up-and-down with Sugar Land this season, posting a 5.70 ERA and 32:17 K:BB over 30 innings.

MAY 26, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Chandler Rome: Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley exited... - The Athletic Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley exited his Triple-A start on Thursday "after feeling some discomfort in his right shoulder," accord...

MAY 26, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Healthy at Triple-A Whitley (shoulder) gave up one run on two hits and one walk while striking out four in four innings Saturday for Triple-A Sugar Land.

Impact Shoulder discomfort resulted in a two-week gap between starts for Whitley, but he never landed on the minor-league injured list. The Astros' rotation depth has been tested early this season, and if Whitley can stay healthy while performing well, he could make his big-league debut this summer. The 6-foot-7 righty has lacked consistency while pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but he has gone at least four innings in all six appearances and has 26 strikeouts in 25 innings.

MAY 14, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Chandler Rome: Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley... - The Athletic Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley underwent an MRI in Houston last week that he said came back "really, really clean." Whitley missed...

MAY 12, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Dealing with shoulder discomfort Whitley's last start for Triple-A Sugar Land was skipped due to minor right shoulder discomfort, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Impact Whitley has the most name value of Houston's starters at Triple-A, but after a strong first two starts of the campaign, the 6-foot-7 righty has struggled to the tune of a 9.00 ERA and 1.54 WHIP in 13 innings over his three most recent starts. J.P. France and Brandon Bielak were chosen for the open rotation spots at the big-league level.

MAY 6, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

First hiccup of season Whitley gave up five earned runs on four hits and three walks while striking out six in 4.2 innings in this week's start against Las Vegas.

Impact This was Whitley's first slip up of the year, as he gave up just one run while striking out 11 in eight innings over his first two starts. He was done in by the long ball in his third start of the year, as he gave up two home runs at home for Triple-A Sugar Land. Despite this hiccup, Whitley has put himself squarely back on the dynasty and redraft map with a 0.95 WHIP and 17 strikeouts in 12.2 innings.

APRIL 21, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

This week in Minor League Baseball: Scouts chime in on Forrest Whitley, others Scouts chime in on three Triple-A prospects, plus notable performances from the week, top plays and much more ...

APRIL 18, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM

Sent to minor-league camp The Astros optioned Whitley to minor-league camp Sunday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Impact Whitley has made a pair of appearances in Grapefruit League games, throwing four innings and allowing two runs with a 3:1 K:BB ratio. Once ranked as the top pitching prospect in all of baseball, Whitley has struggled with injuries and command and also dealt with a PED suspension, but the 25-year-old has a good chance to make his MLB debut at some point this summer with Houston.

MARCH 12, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Is '23 the year Whitley finally breaks through for Astros? WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Is this the year it finally all comes together for Astros prospect Forrest Whitley? No one would like an answer to...

FEBRUARY 20, 2023 • MLB.COM

Over lat injury Whitley said Thursday that he's over the right lat injury which prematurely ended his 2022 season, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Impact Whitley had to be scratched from his final start for Triple-A Sugar Land after feeling something in the back of his lat during a bullpen session, but he said it's a non-issue now. The former top prospect has had a terrible time with injuries and throwing strikes the last few years, having posted a 7.09 ERA and 36:25 K:BB over 33 innings for Sugar Land last season. He's still just 25, though, and way too talented to give up on.

FEBRUARY 16, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Dealing with shoulder discomfort Whitley is dealing with "very minor" shoulder discomfort, according to general manager James Click, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Impact Whitley last pitched Sept. 16 and was scratched from a start Thursday with shoulder discomfort. He logged a 5.06 ERA, 1.59 WHIP and a 23:17 K:BB in 21.1 innings over his five most recent minor-league starts. Whitley, who is on the 40-man roster, only tallied 40 innings in his first minor-league season since 2019.

SEPTEMBER 25, 2022 • ROTOWIRE

Back in action at Triple-A Whitley (arm) is scheduled to make an appearance Thursday for Triple-A Sugar Land, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Impact Though Whitley was never placed on Sugar Land's injured list, he hadn't pitched for the affiliate since July 10 due to inflammation of his right biceps. The Astros were apparently satisfied with how Whitley checked out during his recent throwing sessions, so he'll be able to slot back into the Sugar Land rotation without the need of a rehab assignment at a lower-level affiliate. Expect Whitley to be capped at around two innings in his first outing in nearly a month.

AUGUST 4, 2022 • ROTOWIRE