Forrest Whitley was the first to admit the Astros gave him a long runway throughout his career to reach the Major Leagues, which he finally did last season more than eight years after the club took him in the first round of the 2016 MLB Draft.

Forrest Whitley never established himself as reliable part of the Houston Astros ' pitching staff. Houston's former top prospect will now look to become a Major League mainstay with a different franchise after a trade early Friday afternoon.

Back in 2018 and 2019, Whitley was the Astros' top prospect and was ranked inside the top ten overall. In 2022, Whitley dropped to fifth within the Astros organization, and in 2023, Whitley dropped out of the top 20 prospects in Houston.

The Astros notably selected Whitley over Kansas City Royals pitcher Cole Ragans and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith. After reaching Double-A in his first full season, Whitley served a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball ’s drug prevention and treatment program, and saw his stock rapidly plummet following poor performances.