After overcoming odds, Whitley on verge of claiming bullpen spot

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- You can’t help but learn some things about yourself as a person when you’ve been through the things that Astros pitcher Forrest Whitley has been through the last nine years. The expectations of a can’t-miss prospect at 18 years old gave way to the frustrations of a series of setbacks on and off the field and the dreaded “bust” label.

Now 27 years old, happily married and as healthy as he’s been in years, the 2016 first-round pick has a fresh perspective on his future and appears to have found a home in an Astros bullpen that’s desperately seeking arms to pitch meaningful innings. Whitley’s unconventional path has brought him to his best opportunity yet.

“I think the fact I’m here now pitching with good stuff and healthy and the mindset of having failed so many times and having gone through so much adversity, it’s made me undoubtedly a stronger person out there on the mound,” he said. “I’m not fired up that it happened, by any means, but I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”

Whitley was taken by Houston with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft -- before the club won its first World Series in 2017 and reeled off a stretch of eight consecutive trips to the postseason. Ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Astros’ top prospect in ‘18, ‘19, ‘20 and ‘21, his career was derailed by a suspension, a lost season to the pandemic and a series of injuries, including Tommy John surgery.

The Astros moved him to the bullpen last year and he made his Major League debut in April -- pitching in one game -- before returning briefly to the big leagues in September for two appearances. Whitley had his best season as a professional last year, posting a 1.89 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 33 1/3 innings with Triple-A Sugar Land. He now appears headed to his first Opening Day roster spot.

“I just still need to take the mindset of a day at a time,” Whitley said. “I think there’s been a lot of positives to come from the outings I’ve thrown in camp. There’s still a lot of work to be done. I feel like I still have something to prove to this team.

"I think I just need to have the mindset of not getting too comfortable. Being with an organization for 10 years and getting to the big leagues last year, I think it’s going to be important for me to kind of stay on top of my work.”

Whitley pitched two scoreless innings in relief Saturday against the Yankees, allowing one hit with two walks and one strikeout. If he can stay in the strike zone, he has the ability to dominant with a 97 mph fastball coming from a 6-foot-7 frame and a vast arsenal of weapons.

“He’s got the weapons to be a top-end late-inning guy to someone who can come in and give you two-plus innings and hand the ball to our back-end bullpen,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “He’s that talented. I don’t want to corner him into, ‘This is what he’s going to be,’ because he’s got the potential to be a big piece for our bullpen.”

Whitley believes he can help the Astros in a variety of roles.

“I want to be a Swiss Army Knife,” he said. “Ideally, I want to throw 100 innings for this team. I want to make spot starts, I want to throw multiple innings out of the ‘pen. I’ll throw multiple times a week or one inning. I’ll do whatever.”

Whitley sits cross-legged at his locker and smiles at how far he’s come as a baseball player and a human. The Astros stuck with him through the suspension and the injuries and are hoping their belief in him will finally pay dividends this year.

“I’m so grateful for everybody in that room that fought for me to stay on the 40-man as long as I have,” he said. “I think even though I’ve had a ton of injuries, each injury I’ve come back stronger and I’ve maintained my stuff. As much as I’d like to thank them, I think I also worked really hard to put myself in this position.

"I’m extremely thankful for this organization for giving me this opportunity. I don’t know how many guys would stay on the 40-man roster for years and didn’t debut. I’m extremely grateful.”