Baseball America’s 2021 Top 100 Prospects list as expected had just one Astro on it – Forrest Whitley at #80.
For those keeping score at home Whitley was:
- #25 on the 2020 list
- #5 on the 2019 list
- #10 on the 2018 list
FWIW, there was an additional 88 guys who received votes when putting this list together. Jeremy Pena and Luis Garcia were 2 of those 88 players.
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If you didn’t know this was going to be Jeremy Pena then you sure as fuck haven’t been paying attention. The recap on him: “he has a quick first step, plenty of range, soft hands and gets rid of the ball quickly with an arm that draws mixed reviews from fringy to plus.”
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I may have overlooked someone linking to this previously but an interesting interview from last July with 6th-ranked prospect Tyler Ivey…
(And yes the writer/interviewer fucked up…it was A&M where Ivey went to school as a freshman with Corbin Martin and not Texas Tech)
We went that way in late October from Central Tx. to catch the fall foliage. And we caught it perfectly.
Went as far as Gettysburg as I was doing some Civil War touring. Asheville is one of my favorite towns.
Keith Law released his top 100 list on The Athletic. Two Astros made the list.
Forrest Whitley being on the list is not a surprise. That he comes in as high as #29 might be. A lot of other prospect graders have lowered their expectations for Whitley, but Law says he still thinks that between Whitley’s size and pure stuff, he’ll eventually be an “impact big-league starter.” Law also thinks Whitley might benefit from an “internship” in the big league bullpen.
The second Astro on the list is Luis Garcia, who came in at #67. Law liked what Garcia showed in his short stint in the big leagues last year: high velocity, plus slider and changeup that drew a lot of swinging strikes. He thinks that with a little more time in the minors Garcia will have three plus pitches, with the main developmental issue being lowering his walk rate.
Yes – I’m looking forward to seeing Garcia at the Dell this summer.
Oh … Wait … %*&$@
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Whitley at #41 on the new MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects list.
So BA published the rest of their Top 30:
- RHP Enoli Paredes
- OF Chas McCormick
- RHP Shawn Dubin
- RHP Brett Conine
- RHP Jairo Solis
- RHP Tyler Brown
- OF Zach Daniels
- SS Freudis Nova
- OF Jordan Brewer
- SS Shay Whitcomb
- SS Dauri Lorenzo
- RHP Brandon Bielak
- C Juan Santander
- RHP Jojanse Torres
- LHP Blake Taylor
- RHP Elvis Garcia
- OF Richi Gonzalez
- RHP Blair Henley
- RHP Peter Solomon
- RHP Austin Hansen
Among the 11-30 group, first appearance on a prospect list for Shay Whitcomb (2020 draftee), Juan Santander, Elvis Garcia and Richi Gonzalez. The latter 3 were IFA signees in the 2019-2020 period.
I think it would be lovely if Whitley finally decided to do something.
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Haven’t been this disappointed in a Stros prospect in a while.
I know that there’s precious little to back this but I just have a feeling he’s gonna break out this year.
I think (hope) he will have good season, maybe get a cup of coffee and be in the rotation full-time in 2022.
Folks who claimed to know during 2019 said he does not give a damn.
Such a shame.
Keith Law with his Top 20 Astros prospects list for The Athletic (plus 7 other prospects of note):
- RHP Forrest Whitley
- RHP Luis Garcia
- OF Pedro Leon
- RHP Hunter Brown
- SS Jeremy Pena
- RHP Jairo Solis
- C Korey Lee
- RHP Shawn Dubin
- OF Colin Barber
- OF Jordan Brewer
- RHP Tyler Ivey
- RHP Alex Santos
- RHP Brett Conine
- INF Luis Santana
- SS Freudis Nova
- OF Alex McKenna
- 3B Joe Perez
- C Nathan Perry
- OF Zach Daniels
- RHP Austin Hansen
Others:
RHP Bryan Abreu
RHP Jairo Lopez
RHP Peter Solomon
RHP Blair Henley
SS Dauri Lorenzo
C CJ Stubbs
INF Grae Kessinger
Astros.com has a short audio of Whitley talking about his pitches and approach entering 2021.
At least he’s saying the right things. . .
Its definitely a make or break year.
Consider Harold Reynolds equally impressed. On MLB Network’s breakdown of their Top 100 prospects he said he really likes Whitley’s new mechanics and delivery. Also thinks Whitley is showing more maturity (especially physical) and thinks last year and dealing with the spate of injuries the last few seasons was an opportunity for Whitley to get his head on straight.
Insert appropriate grains of salt here.
Sure. I will believe Whitley’s BS when I see it.
PS. The article about Whitley’s pitches has been up for days and days on At Bat.
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I rarely watch network television anymore. The Top 100 breakdown happened to be on Saturday afternoon while I was cleaning the house.
There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic about Whitley. I agree with you, though, that the more realistic outcome is never realizes his potential and is one more cautionary tale about believing the hype, the proverbial million dollar body with a ten cent brain.