Jays pitching prospect Alek Manoah making it hard for Jays to keep him down

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This article was published 08/05/2021 (1650 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alek Manoah is going to push the Blue Jays to promote him to the big leagues. His performances in spring training and his debut for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons this past week, when he struck out 12 batters in six scoreless innings, have demanded such consideration.

Even Toronto general manager Ross Atkins seems to know Manoah, the Jays’ sixth-ranked prospect, will push the envelope.

“I do feel that every situation is different but starting pitching is an area where we tend to be patient and want to make sure that we’re giving guys every opportunity to have really long, sustainable, healthy careers,” Atkins told reporters ahead of the right-hander’s first start for the Bisons on Thursday.

“But, man, he’s exciting and he’s going to speed up the timeline, I’m sure.”

Finding that balance between making sure Manoah is ready and benefitting from a guy with tantalizing stuff who already believes he can perform at the highest level could still be tough, particularly as Manoah’s prospects soar and Toronto manages an injury-riddled start to the season.

There are two sides to the 23-year-old. There’s the Manoah who has dazzled on the mound for the Jays, striking out 27 batters in 17 innings in short-season ball in 2019 and 15 batters in seven innings during his first spring training this year, including several Yankees regulars. But then there’s the Manoah with just seven minor-league starts covering 23 innings.

Performance, Atkins said, may be the easiest part of deciding Manoah’s timeline. Projecting his health and his ability to continue to develop at the major leagues requires more thought.

“We’ve been trying to think about how to value the innings that he has had with us and who he’s been facing … and how to place a value on that, relative to the missed opportunities of development because of COVID and the pandemic and not having a minor-league season (last year),” Atkins said.

Manoah doesn’t think he lost a year of development in 2020. He was able to do everything he needed to evolve, he said. He threw with his brother, a former prospect himself, worked out at their gym, Manoah Driven, and pitched to any Miami-area hitters he could find who wanted to get some swings in.

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Manoah also doesn’t believe his graduation from A-ball to Triple-A is as big a jump as people are making it seem. Manoah said his pitches are pretty polished; he was even able to mix in a two-seamer last outing, a pitch he wasn’t sure was ready for games. He is grasping what counts work best for certain pitches. And watching video and pitching in games at Toronto’s alternate sites have helped him gain a better understanding of opposing hitters’ swings.

Manoah would likely love to follow in the footsteps of Nate Pearson, the Jay’ top prospect who left the Bisons on Saturday for Houston, where he is expected to make his season debut with Toronto on Sunday after missing the start of the season because of a groin strain.

Manoah isn’t likely to join him soon, though he’ll keep pushing.

“Just take the ball every five days and go give them hell,” he said.

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy