MLB Rumors: A real Cardinals ace, Astros injury woes, end of the road for Gary Sanchez

MLB Rumors: Houston Astros prospect suffers an injury

Forrest Whitley, one of the top pitching prospects in the Houston Astros organization, suffered an arm injury in Thursday’s outing. Whitley, who had been pitching admirably for the Space Cowboys, could miss some time.

Whitley left the game for “undisclosed reasons”, per the team, but as a pitcher who has already dealt with major injury woes, it’s another setback for the former top prospect. Whitley was finally closing in on Houston, until he wasn’t.

As The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan noted just a month ago, there’s still plenty of potential for Whitley to be a big-league star. He just has to stay on the mound.

"“Pitchability is always going to be a concern, but he’s throwing strikes so far. The stuff isn’t amazing, but it’s still plus across the board. He was up to 96-97 mph when I saw him, not 99-100 mph like he threw before. But plus breaking balls and a good changeup. He has the potential for plus command. The delivery is very simple now. I’ve seen some meltdowns and underachieving in the past, so we’ll see. But he’s kind of a forgotten guy who still has a chance to be a No. 2 or No. 3.”"

Whitley is already 25 years old. At some point, the Astros need to see this potential turn into actual results, or else the future may not be so bright after all.