He’s got draft classmates already lapping him, advancing to their MLB debuts. He’s had injuries, a suspension, and mysterious and lengthy performance setbacks. The Houston Astros’ phenom pitcher Forrest Whitley has been forced to accelerate his learning curve, an unexpected and formidable challenge for the 2016 first-round draft pick.

When you’re the 17th overall pick in the MLB draft, it’s easy to blow off college, if for no other reason than there ceases to be the goal of hoping to improve your draft stock following your junior year.

Whitley, out of Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, Texas, had an early fan in Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan (an Astros’ executive advisor). Ryan was instrumental in scouting Whitley, having seen him on many occasions on high school diamonds, and was one of many scouts who raved about Whitley’s makeup and competitive nature.

Ryan was able to catch Whitley in the process of emerging from a sub-six-footer with a mid-70s fastball to a slightly gawky six-foot-seven and throwing in the mid-90s.

Little did Ryan (or anyone, for that matter) know that Whitley would need to call on those solid character attributes so early in his career, even before he made his MLB debut; a debut that, by all accounts, won’t be made until deep into the 2020 season. And, that’s if all goes well.

Related: Forrest Whitley Won’t Make MLB Debut In 2019

Fast Out of the Blocks

He’s ranked #2 on the Astros’ Top 30 prospect list, according to MLB.com, while occupying the 17th rung on MLB’s Top 100.

In 2017, Whitley averaged 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings and joined Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw, Dylan Bundy, and the Astros’ Zack Greinke as the only high school first-rounders this millennium to pitch in Double-A during their first full pro season.

The 6’7″, 195-pound right-hander polished off three organizational levels in 2017 to finish with a combined 2.83 ERA in 92.1 innings, burning eyeballs with 143 strikeouts against only 34 walks. To plot a course where the then-19-year-old might burst onto the Houston scene in 2018 seemed a natural progression, and not at all an ill-advised overreach.

Stumbling Blocks

His 2018 encore season felt the bumps of a 50-game suspension for violating the Minor League drug program, as well as forcing him to endure minor oblique and lat injuries.

The Astros, hoping to make up for his lost time, sent Whitley to the 2018 Arizona Fall League, where he was that circuit’s strikeout leader and showed why he’s considered the best pitching prospect in baseball. Whitley, who grew up a San Francisco Giants fan, struck out 36 batters in 26 innings, finishing with a 2.42 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP, earning a spot on the Fall Stars team.

According to MLB.com, Whitley “can make hitters look bad with his entire repertoire, starting with a 93-98 mph fastball with natural life (heavy sink down or cutting action up in the zone) and a devastating changeup with fade and depth. He has a pair of high-spin, power breaking balls with a 12-to-6 curveball and a late-biting slider, and he can turn the latter into a true cutter in the low 90s.”

The Year That Was

Following the AFL weeks, Whitley moved to Houston to work out at Dynamic Sports Training, the noted fitness lab frequented by fellow Astros Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa. “The injuries definitely played a huge part in what my main focuses [were] this offseason,” Whitley said, hinting at the workout plan he sought at DST.

With eyes toward a redemptive 2019 for the pitcher, Houston’s general manager Jeff Luhnow said more than once at the dawn of the new year that he expected Whitley to make his big league debut at some point in the current season, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.

“I’ve played it over in my head quite a few times, so that’s going to be a very special day for me and my family, and hopefully it happens sooner than later,” Whitley said in January. “I think about it every day, multiple times.”

ESPN even hopped on the Whitley debut accelerated bandwagon, giddily proclaiming in April, “Sometime in 2019 he is expected to make his major league debut for the championship-contending Astros.”

Growing Pains

Whitley was assigned to Houston’s Triple-A Round Rock Express to begin 2019. As understandably optimistic and glowing as anyone else in the Astros’ orbit, Express manager Mickey Storey told KVUE-TV in Austin, “We could stick Forrest in the big leagues right now and he would probably be fine, but there’s still some development there; there’s still some growth.”

Whitley instead endured a curious tailspin, during which the quality of his stuff fluctuated at times to the point where he got hit much harder than he should have in his first taste with the Express at the minor leagues’ top-level (12.21 ERA, .343 BAA in 24.1 IP).

Turning in a recent harsh assessment, MLB.com offered this: “His command has never been particularly sharp and has regressed this year, with scouts from other organizations raising questions about his focus and maturity. He still has the upside of a dominant No. 1 starter, but hasn’t looked like one as often as he had in the past.”

Pitch command had gotten away from Whitley and he was sent to Houston’s Advanced-A Fayetteville Woodpeckers to rehab shoulder fatigue.

Despite flagging results, Whitley told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in mid-August he did not feel he was rushed up to Round Rock.

“I’d never really dealt with that kind of adversity, especially on the field, in my entire life,” Whitley revealed. “So, experiencing that will hopefully benefit me going forward.”

After two promising rehab starts in Fayetteville, Whitley was assigned to the AA Corpus Christi Hooks (rather than back to Round Rock) to give him an opportunity to face hitters closer to his own age. Closing 2019 at Corpus marks Whitley’s third stint with the Hooks in as many seasons.

“We’re trying to get him to stay locked in on his delivery,” Hooks’ pitching coach Graham Johnson said recently. “Keeping an eye on the way we’re wanting him to use his pitches, attack plans, getting a little more dialed in, and not just trying to overwhelm guys with stuff. When he gets to the big leagues, everybody’s got stuff.”

Whitley in Some Rear View Mirrors

Other Astros first-round draft picks such as George Springer, Correa, and Kyle Tucker all made their MLB debuts within three years. Bregman did it in one.

Shortstop Gavin Lux, drafted as a high schooler three spots behind Whitley in 2016 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, has spent half this year at Triple-A, hitting .415 with 12 homers in 41 games.

Starting pitcher TJ Zeuch, drafted just behind Lux, is knocking on the Toronto Blue Jays’ door at their AAA affiliate, pulling in a 4-2 record in 11 games with a 3.87 ERA.

Finally, shortstop Carter Kieboom, the Washington Nationals’ 28th overall 2016 pick as a high schooler, made his MLB debut at 21 in late April.

Whitley has admitted that he has faced pressure from outside the organization to get to the majors faster than some other prospects.

“In a way it’s kind of unfair, you know you don’t ask for it,” Whitley said. “You get all this unwanted attention and the spotlight’s on you and if you go out there and don’t perform you’re kind of deemed a disappointment.”

Looking Ahead

“It’s hard not to think about it,” Whitley said when asked about his eventual call-up to Houston, whenever it may be. “It’s your career and your main goal is to get to the big leagues.

“They have varying opinions on where I might end up this season but the only thing that really matters to me is where I think I’ll end up and what will make me a long time big leaguer rather than my timeline of getting up to the big leagues.”

“We just want that guy when he gets to Houston to never look back.”-Round Rock Express manager, Mickey Storey