Whitley ready to take on relief role
After five years, former top prospect hopes to debut at last
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The scene for Forrest Whitley is at once familiar and not. February again finds him at Astros spring training, on the doorstep of a desire yet to be realized. Life’s natural progression measures his wait.
“I think as the years have gone on, I’ve definitely been more comfortable walking into this locker room,” Whitley said Friday. “I’m 26 now. I’m married. I feel like I’m a little bit more of an adult showing up in this locker room than I have been the past few years.”
Whitley first showed up in 2019 as a touted 21-year-old, the top pitching prospect in baseball. Ensuing years dimmed that hype. Whitley has thrown 129 innings across the last four minor-league seasons with a 7.01 ERA. Tommy John surgery sidelined him in 2021. A lat muscle strain derailed him last season after eight outings at Class AAA.
A major-league debut still eludes him. The Astros are taking a different approach this spring to pursuing it. Whitley will pitch as a reliever in camp and try to claim a role in a Houston bullpen with several up for grabs, a shift aimed at finally bringing to fruition the scenario that once seemed so certain.
“I’ve felt like the last few camps, I’ve put way too much pressure on myself, just kind of giving myself unrealistic goals out of camp,” Whitley said. “But this is my fifth big-league camp, so I have a pretty good idea of what the coaches like to do here. I kind of know what to expect. And just trying to keep my goals in a lane that’s not going outside of those, so if it goes another way I’m not extremely disappointed or anything like that.
“But yeah, I’ve got a good feeling about this camp. I feel like if I can make it through healthy, I’ve got a good chance.”
Health is a recurring question with Whitley. The righthander put forth an encouraging showing in major league camp a year ago, pitching with command and good life in Grapefruit League games before being optioned in a procedural move. He posted a 5.70 ERA in 30 innings at Triple-A Sugar Land before injuring his lat in late May.
Whitley described the injury Friday as a “pretty significant” tear. He did not pitch again last season. It spurred him to try a different regimen this winter. Whitley relocated to Arizona, where Tim Naiman, a sports performance trainer he’d worked with remotely, is based. The two began a thorough effort to prepare
Whitley for what may be a pivotal 2024.
Whitley deems his injury history “confusing.” He struggled to pinpoint anything he was doing to cause it. Naiman suggested starting with a deep biometric dive. They discussed Whitley’s diet and sleep patterns. Naiman ran tests to tailor a training program for Whitley aimed at building resiliency in his muscle tissue and his body’s ability to recover.
It included workouts to build strength and then isolate specific areas that are prone to injury in pitchers, said Naiman, the director of athletic performance for a Scottsdale-based program called 4APP Sports. A focus on recovery took into account Whitley’s
potential relief role, which offers a less structured routine than starting on a regular schedule.
“We really taught Forrest and taught Forrest’s body how to adapt to any given circumstance,” Naiman said. “If his body can’t adapt and it can’t handle the stress of a game or a relief outing, he’s not going to be sustainable.
“Forrest, leaving here, I would say he as an athlete can adapt based off any given environment he has. And in his current state, the resiliency he worked for is a recipe perfect for this season for him and making sure that he stays on the mound and does not have any hiccups.”
Whitley termed it “the most involved offseason I’ve ever had.”
He said he is curious to see how it will translate into the season but arrived at camp in a positive mental and physical place.
“I feel good — I mean as good as I have ever,” Whitley said. “Right before I came out here, I threw three live (bullpen sessions). Fastball was mid-to-upper 90s, so kind of right where I wanted to be. All my stuff pitch shape-wise is exactly where I want it to be. I don’t feel like I could be in a better spot.”
Whitley’s arsenal remains enticing, though his minor league numbers hardly reflect it. Astros general manager Dana Brown said this winter Whitley’s “power” makes him an intriguing bullpen candidate. Houston must replenish a unit that lost three relievers who combined for 185 innings in 2023 to free agency and could have competition for up to four spots this spring.
“We know his capabilities when he’s healthy,” manager Joe Espada said.
Whitley said a relief role will not be “super-foreign” to him. He pointed to pitching in tandem at times in the minors and Grapefruit League games. Fourteen of his 78 minor-league appearances are in relief. Whitley said he may narrow his pitch repertoire and his “usages may change a little bit, but that’s kind of what I’m here to figure out in camp.”
That the Astros sought a fourth minor-league option year for Whitley reflects a cautious hope that this season will be different. Whitley harbors the same hope. He said a “finger thing popped up” before he reported to camp but he is throwing normally. He shared his New Year’s resolution: “No MRIs in 2024.”
“I feel like I’ve been at the doorstep here for a number of years,” Whitley said. “It’s clearly been pretty frustrating, as you all have seen. But it is what it is. It’s made me a more resilient player. I’m thankful for that. So we’ll just keep moving forward.”