Report: Astros refused to deal top pitching prospect Whitley for Paxton

The Houston Astros lost out on acquiring James Paxton on Monday, but it appears as though they could have snagged him from the Seattle Mariners for a price they deemed too rich.

Before the Mariners shipped the star southpaw to the New York Yankees, Houston refused to trade right-hander Forrest Whitley - the team's top pitching prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline - to Seattle as part of a package for Paxton, a source told Jon Morosi of MLB.com on Monday.

Morosi reports that Seattle quickly pivoted over to the Yankees following Houston's decision. The Mariners ultimately picked up three prospects, including highly regarded left-hander Justus Sheffield, from New York in exchange for the Canadian ace.

No one appears to be more excited about this turn of events than Whitley himself. Once he found out he was staying in Houston, the San Antonio native publicly expressed his gratitude to Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow.

Whitley, the Astros' first-round pick two years ago, only pitched in eight games at Double-A in 2018 after he was suspended for violating the minors' drug program. The 21-year-old was dominant when he did pitch, crafting a 3.76 ERA and 0.99 WHIP with 34 strikeouts and only 11 walks last season. In a full 2017 season, he averaged 13.9 strikeouts per nine innings across three minor-league levels.

Despite his abbreviated 2018 campaign, MLB Pipeline still ranks Whitley as the eighth-best prospect in all of baseball, ahead of every other minor-league pitcher.