Houston Astros receive wave of injury updates

The Houston Astros announced injury updates Monday for three players, two of whom are on the 40-man roster. The team has been dealing with injuries within the starting rotation all season, so any pitching updates are important. Both 40-man players are pitchers, but only one of them was good news.

Former top prospect Forrest Whitley started pitching and threw a 20-pitch bullpen. Whitley was once the Astros’ top prospect and was even ranked seventh in the MLB Pipeline Top 100 in 2019. At one point, he looked like he was the future of Houston’s rotation, but experienced ups and downs in the minor league. career.

He received a 50-game suspension for violating MLB’s drug policy in 2018 and underwent a Tommy John in 2021. Since his injury, he has not posted an ERA below 5.70 in the minors. However, in 2024, he made his Major League debut and pitched 0.2 innings before being optioned and placed on the 7-day IL.

Whitley isn’t the prospect he once was, but with all their injuries and the latest update on Jose Urquidy, they could use all the depth they have.

Conversely, JP France has not yet started to launch. France was optioned in late April before being placed on the 7-day IL on May 7.

In 2023, France has been solid in 23 starts with a 3.83 ERA in 136.1 innings with 6.7 K/9. The start of 2024 didn’t go as well, as he had a 7.46 ERA in five starts before being optioned. His rookie season was promising, but the struggles left the Astros with no choice.

If he can bounce back from injury, he would likely slide back into Houston’s rotation, depending on if he can find success.

Finally, the Astros received an update on their top prospect, Jacob Melton. Melton was a 2022 second-round pick and is now their number one prospect according to MLB Pipeline.

Melton injured his wrist while playing in Double-A, but was not placed on the injured list. For now, it will take “about a week” before he returns. Before the injury, Melton had hit five home runs with a .784 OPS. As a college stick coming out of the draft, he has progressed quickly through the minors thus far. When he is healthy, this will probably continue. Although he’s only at Double-A, he could help the big league team this year if the roster continues to struggle.

Houston’s roster has remained healthy, but aside from a few select players, it has struggled. Their rotation has racked up a ton of injuries, and if France and Whitley return sooner rather than later, they could provide valuable depth if they want to stay in contention.