With the final month of the regular season now here, the Houston Astros sit five games up on the Seattle Marinersand look to be well on their way to taking home another AL West division crown.
Because the Astros are in contention for the playoffs and have a roster poised to make another deep run, their September call-ups don’t mean as much for the long-term viability of the franchise as others around the league who are wanting to see what their young players can do.
Instead, Houston will be looking to fortify this group by taking advantage of the expanded rosters.
As can be gatherer from their social media post, they are giving long-time prospect Forrest Whitley another opportunity in the Majors after he was called up to throw in one game back on April 16.
Astros fans have known the type of talent he is, having been ranked No. 1 in this farm system from 2018-21, but he was never able to prove to the organization that he should be part of this MLB roster following his Tommy John surgery in 2021 that changed his career.
In the two years since that procedure, Whitley posted a combined 6.17 ERA across 21 games and 17 starts, striking out 77 batters in 70 innings pitched.
That caused him to jump into the bullpen this past offseason so he could give himself a better chance at becoming a contributor at the Major League level.
Outside of some early injury issues that seem to always plague him, the transition has gone smoothy with a 2.17 ERA across his 27 outings in Triple-A, ringing up 40 batters in 29 innings.
Whitley will now get another opportunity in the Majors to show what he can do, something that feels like one of his last opportunities in Houston if it goes poorly.
Salazar’s promotion is the case of a player at a logjam position being the beneficiary of the expanded roster.
He was with the Astros for a stretch from mid-June to mid-July when backup catcher Victor Caratini was on the injured list, but once he was healthy enough to return, Salazar was sent back down to the farm.
Now, he’ll be with the team for the final month of the year, able to be called upon by manager Joe Espada in case there is an injury, or if they need him for a specific matchup.