One of the best young players in baseball has been busted for performance-enhancing-drug use, and he’s got a doozy of an excuse.
Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that right-handed pitcher Forrest Whitley, the sport’s No. 9 prospect, has been suspended 50 games for violating the minor-league drug prevention program. Naturally, Whitley (or his camp) quickly produced an explanation that would make Rafael Palmeiro, Melky Cabrera and many other past excuse-makers proud: He took a stimulant handed to him by a friend and — what do you know — it had something bad in it.
Can confirm @Buster_ESPN report. Forrest Whitley suspended for 50 games. Source tells me Whitley was at an out of state college baseball game as a fan after his season was over and was given an unknown stimulant by a friend in order to help keep him awake on his long drive home.
— Chuck Miketinac (@MaxSportsSA) February 21, 2018
The thing about Whitley’s explanation is that even if it’s true, it doesn’t fully absolve him. For a baseball player to heedlessly take an “unknown stimulant,” despite knowing he’ll be drug-tested, is quite unwise. Either Whitley took steroids in an attempt to cheat or he utterly failed to monitor what was going into his body. Either way, he can’t much complain about his suspension.
Whitley’s positive test comes a month after two Astros minor-leaguers were suspended for drug offenses: Pitcher Dean Deetz got 80 games for a positive PED test, while first baseman Jon Singleton earned 100 games for a drug-of-abuse violation. Back in November, another member of the Astros’ organization, right-hander Carlos Pimentel, was suspended for 56 games for allegedly using the PED Stanozolol.
But none of those players is nearly as notable as Whitley, who could soon become a household name. The 20-year-old former first-round pick posted a 2.83 ERA with 143 strikeouts in 92 1/3 innings across three minor-league levels last year, saving his best for Double-A, where his ERA dropped to 1.84 and he fanned 26 batters in 14 2/3 innings. He figures to make his Major-League debut in 2018 and will likely crack the Astros’ rotation by 2019.
Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Wednesday that he was “disappointed in the outcome” of Whitley’s suspension but was “hopeful and optimistic that Forrest can be a big part of our future.”
It will be interesting to see whether Whitley’s suspension follows him to the majors or gets quickly forgotten. Baseball and its fans sometimes seem to have selective memory when it comes to PED use, pardoning some players and forever resenting others. Maybe getting busted while still in the minor leagues will save Whitley from pariah status, but this suspension will nonetheless be a part of his resume forever.
