HOUSTON -- Outfielder Kyle Tucker and right-hander Forrest Whitley were named the Astros' Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, by the team's player development department Thursday. They will be recognized in a ceremony before Sunday's home regular-season finale against the Angels.
Tucker batted .274 with 70 runs, 33 doubles, five triples, 25 homers, 90 RBIs, 21 steals and an .874 OPS in 120 games between Double-A Corpus Christi and Class A Buies Creek. Despite being one of the youngest position players in both the Carolina League and Texas League at 20, Tucker was one of just 10 players in all of the Minor Leagues to record at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Tucker, the fifth overall pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, is ranked as the Astros' No. 1 prospect and MLB's No. 7 overall prospect by MLBPipeline.com. The left-handed hitter represented the Astros in this year's SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, going 1-for-3 with an RBI in a start in right field.

Whitley, ranked No. 2 on the Astros and No. 36 overall by MLBPipeline.com, dominated at three Minor League levels despite pitching the entire season at 19 years old, going 5-4 with a 2.83 ERA with 34 walks, 78 hits allowed and 143 strikeouts in 23 games (18 starts) at Corpus Christi , Buies Creek and Class A Quad Cities. Selected by the Astros with the 16th overall pick in last year's Draft, the 6-foot-7 right-hander led the Minors in strikeouts per nine innings (13.94).