Hooks' Whitley earns first Double-A win
Forrest Whitley's winding path back to the precipice of the Majors reached another checkpoint Thursday night -- his first Double-A win.Houston's No. 2 prospect matched season highs with nine strikeouts and five innings pitched, allowing two runs on three hits to guide Corpus Christi past Arkansas, 4-2, at Dickey-Stephens Park.
Houston's No. 2 prospect matched season highs with nine strikeouts and five innings pitched, allowing two runs on three hits to guide Corpus Christi past Arkansas, 4-2, at Dickey-Stephens Park. He walked four batters, but shaved more than a run off of his Texas League ERA, bringing it down to 6.46.
Whitley (1-2) walked the first two batters of the game before top Mariners prospect
Gameday box score
The 21-year-old faced the minimum over the next two innings with two of the next six outs coming on the basepaths. Seattle's No. 10 prospect
MLB.com's No. 17 overall prospect threw 49 of 88 pitches for strikes, both season highs. Whitley has struck out 25 batters in 15 1/3 innings with the Hooks as he returns to the form that slotted the 2016 first-rounder into the Opening Day rotation at Triple-A Round Rock.
After recording a 12.21 ERA in 24 1/3 innings with the Express while dealing with right shoulder fatigue, Whitley landed on the injured list in late May. He returned July 12 with two appearances in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and Class A Advanced Carolina League. In the last of those four starts, Whitley tossed five innings of one-hit ball for Fayetteville and "had it all kinda [come] together."
Joe Bloss is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @jtbloss.