Whalen started Saturday's 4-2 Cactus League win over the Angels in place of Felix Hernandez (forearm) and racked up four strikeouts over three innings of one-hit, one-run ball.
The promising 23-year-old now has six whiffs over five spring frames following Saturday's encouraging outing. His one stumble came in the first, when he allowed a one-out solo homer to Martin Maldonado. Following the round tripper, Whalen settled down in impressive fashion, recording all four of his strikeouts over the final seven batters he faced. Greg Johns of MLB.com reports manager Scott Servais was especially pleased with Whalen's offspeed pitches and expressed that he has "no doubt" that the right-hander will help the big-league club at some point in the coming season.