SAN DIEGO – Jeff Luhnow twice declared Forrest Whitley untouchable – once in November 2018 and again after the blockbuster deal that Zack Greinke made in Astro. The former director of Astros executed deals for Greinke, Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander without separating from his top pitching prospect, one who will now maintain a third consecutive losing season.
As another trading date approaches, with a different regime in power, questions re-emerge Whitley, Houston’s mysterious top prospect. He remains part of the team’s 60-man squad and is therefore eligible to trade on 31 August.
Whitley’s current injury status and past poor performance do not make him an attractive candidate in the short term. Yet he remains the best prospect in an otherwise gutted Astros farm system. He is the only Houston farmer in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects.
Whether James Click shares Luhnow’s affinity for Whitley is still a mystery. Asked on Friday if Whitley was untouchable, Click was diplomatic.
“It’s hard to say right now just based on what he’s going through,” Click said. ‘I think we’ve seen some flashes of Forrest Whitley’s promise in spring training 2.0, in particular.
‘I do not think we would do our job if we just took assets off the table and just said they were untouchable, but there will of course be some players who will just be much harder to move than others. ”
Only two years ago, Whitley was the very top prospect of baseball. Luhnow coveted both Whitley and Kyle Tucker. He said he told teams ahead of the 2019 deadline that both prospects were untouchable. Although his stats are not glorious, Tucker’s reached the top level and at least proved he can maintain a daily roster spot.
Whitley has not done such a thing. He placed a season 12.21 ERA in Class AAA and was sent to West Palm Beach, Fla. For what Luhnow called a ‘season reset’. In February, Whitley reported on spring training ‘not physically ready to compete’ for a job in the rotation game, according to pitching coach Brent Strom. Whitley demonstrated moments of promise during summer camp, where he reported in much better shape.
Click said on Friday that Whitley remains closed with a forearm strain. The judge has “responded well to treatment,” Click said, but he did not provide a timeline for when Whitley could pick up a baseball again.
“So far, he’s following as expected,” Click said.
