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BALTIMORE — Even after Forrest Whitley’s wretched first-half of the minor league season, Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow has not entirely eliminated the possibility of the top pitching prospect making his major league debut this season.

“He would have to prove to us in August that he could help us, which is a high bar (because) he’s not currently on the (40-man) roster,” Luhnow said Saturday. “But I’m not going to rule it out, that’s for sure.”

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Whitley did not aid his cause on Saturday. In a 3 ⅔-inning rehab start for Class AA Corpus Christi, the righthander walked five and threw only 42 of his 82 pitches for strikes.

The imprecision interrupted an otherwise sterling stretch for Whitley, who required a “season reset” after posting a 12.21 ERA during his first eight Triple-A starts.

Across Whitley’s three previous starts — two in High-A Fayetteville and another for Corpus Christi — the former first-round pick struck out 16 and walked only three in 12 ⅓ innings of three-run ball.

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