‘He’s just nasty, man.’ Call Blue Jay Alek Manoah whatever you like, but he’s ace material

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This article was published 28/04/2022 (1291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

And a babe shall lead them.

Not that Alek Manoah is a babe. I mean, he might be, depending on your definition of the word (and personal taste, I guess). But in a baseball sense, the Blue Jays sophomore is very much in the embryonic stages of his career.

While older than more established teammates Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette, the 24-year-old Manoah pitched for just the 24th time in the major leagues in the series finale against the Red Sox on Thursday, and he was brilliant yet again.

The righty threw seven innings of three-hit shutout, walking only one against seven strikeouts in a 1-0 victory. At one point, he retired 12 straight Boston hitters, and 15 of 16.

The Jays assembled a starting rotation to start this season that included four all-stars and Manoah, who had only thrown 40 1/3 innings in the majors at last year’s all-star break, may well be emerging as the best of the bunch.

It’s more than a little early to give him the designation of staff ace, what with two-time all-star José Berríos on board as well as Kevin Gausman, who was the ace of the 107-win San Francisco Giants last season and still hasn’t walked anybody through four starts this year, but Manoah is absolutely making his case.

Manoah, as he so often has, took the mound Thursday afternoon and absolutely shoved.

He had only one jam to pitch out of, and it came in his final inning of work. Enrique Hernandez led off the seventh by hitting a duck snort the other way that landed pretty much right on the foul line in right field for a double. At only 74 miles per hour off the bat, the ball had an expected batting average of .230, but such is baseball. The tying run was in scoring position with nobody out.

A tapper back to the mound advanced Hernandez to third, then Manoah got Christian Arroyo to hit a soft line drive that wound up in Bo Bichette’s glove. With the tying run still 90 feet away, he popped up Bobby Dalbec to maintain that one-run margin, Gosuke Katoh making a terrific play at the rail to haul it in.

Before Dalbec came to the plate, catcher Alejandro Kirk came to the mound for a chat that Manoah wanted no part of.

“Kirky came out … and I kinda kicked him off the mound,” laughed Manoah after the game. “I was like, ‘Don’t give (the bullpen) a chance to warm up.’ I really wanted that moment. I knew it was a one-run ball game and that was a big run. I just had to lock it in at that time and make some big pitches.”

It turns out that he didn’t really have to worry about coming out of the game. Manager Charlie Montoyo trusts him enough, even this early in his career, to let him work his way out of jams.

“I feel so good when he’s on the mound,” said the skipper. “That was his game to go seven innings and he did great.

“I’m not like, ‘Get this guy ready, let’s get this guy ready’’ with Manoah on the mound,” continued Montoyo. “I feel like ‘OK, he’s got it.’ All I’m watching is his pitch count. Other than that, he’ll be fine.”

Upon hearing what his manager thought of him, Manoah’s face lit up.

“I think that’s pretty awesome,” the hurler glowed. “That’s pretty cool (that) he trusts me in high-(leverage) situations (with) runners on and things like that where guys might be getting tired. He knows I’ve got an extra level in there. It’s good to have that confidence behind me.”

And Montoyo is hardly the only one with that level of faith in the six-foot-six mountain of a young man.

Adam Cimber followed Manoah into Thursday’s game and pitched a perfect eighth inning. I asked him if he felt Manoah had elbowed his way into the co-ace conversation with Berríos and Gausman.

“One hundred per cent,” Cimber answered with zero hesitation. “It’s not a fluke. He’s the real deal, man.”

Which continues to be astonishing for someone with fewer than 200 innings pitched as a professional, never mind a big leaguer.

“I think last year (Manoah’s success) surprised me a little bit,” recalled Cimber. “Every time I’d see him start it was like, ‘Wow, this guy’s pretty good.’ And then he’d do it again and he’d do it again. And he’s coming out and doing the exact same thing this year. He’s just nasty, man.”

As for his lack of overall experience?

“He kind of acts like he’s got a few years in the show,” said Cimber, “in a good way, not in a cocky way. I think the way he carries himself, everybody sort of assumes he’s got a few years in the show, and he pitches like it.”

The Jays’ opening-day starter, the man who signed a $131-million (U.S.) contract in the off-season to be the ace, feels the same way.

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“It’s impressive,” marvelled Berríos. “I’m so happy for him. He’s worked hard and his abilities are amazing.”

So it’s a three-headed beast atop the Jays rotation. Manoah is there with Berríos and Gausman — co-aces 1A, 1B and 1C.

“He’s there right now,” agreed Montoyo, “and that’s a big compliment because those other guys are pretty good too. He’s there for me.”

And for the rest of us, as well.

Mike Wilner is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star and host of the baseball podcast “Deep Left Field.” Follow him on Twitter: @wilnerness