Whitley yields one hit, wins full-season debut

Growing up in San Antonio, Forrest Whitley didn't pay much attention to Roger Clemens. But after comparisons were drawn, the 19-year-old sees "The Rocket" as an inspiration.
"He's one of the most consistent guys who has ever pitched this game, in terms of the way he pitches and his mechanics, so it was good to see [game tapes]," Whitley said. "It really helped me out with the stuff that I was working on."

The Astros' No. 5 prospect gave up one hit over five innings in his full-season debut Tuesday, pitching Class A Quad Cities to a 2-0 blanking of Peoria, the first game of a doubleheader at Dozer Park. He struck out six and issued a pair of walks.
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As Whitley (1-0) developed as a pitcher around the age of 13 or 14, he began to follow the Major Leagues more closely, about four years after Clemens retired for the final time. Pitching at former big league manager Davey Johnson's high school, the right-hander garnered national attention as the Astros drafted him 17th overall last June.
Whitley made eight appearances, including six starts, in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast and Appalachian leagues but was limited to no more than three innings in each outing. In his final start of Spring Training, he got the green light to go five innings for the first time since high school. And on Tuesday, he reached 82 pitches for the first time since those Alamo Heights days.
"It felt right back at home. I felt like I was one of those pitchers who's trying to get better as the game progresses and I felt like that was definitely a show of that [on Tuesday]," MLB.com's No. 80 overall prospect said. "It felt really good to get out there for more than three innings, and I was happy with the result."
After waiting for what "felt like an eternity" since his final Spring Training start, Whitley had no problem stretching things out against the Chiefs. The 6-foot-7 hurler allowed three baserunners, never more than one in an inning.
"I just mixed up pitches well, I was able to vary my times to the plate a little bit," he said. "I think the big thing was mixing my pitches with guys on base. I threw almost all my pitches every single time a guy got on. Not to say it was any different when there were no baserunners on, but I felt like I was really in the zone with guys on base. I feel like that was a huge step forward for me in my progression of my development."
As Whitley begins his first full season, he said he hopes to stay healthy and be consistent, just like that other Texas native-turned-Astros ace.

"That was awesome that our staff and our pitching coordinators and pitching coaches were able to pull that [video] out and make that comparison," he said. "That definitely helped me out a lot."
Whitley got offensive help from Astros No. 19 prospect Ronnie Dawson and No. 22 prospect Jake Rogers, both of whom drove in a run.
In the nightcap, Astros No. 29 prospect Jorge Alcala dueled Peoria's Bryan Dobzanski for four hitless innings before the Chiefs salvaged a split with a 3-2 win on a walk-off single by No. 9 hitter Tommy Edman.