Blue Jays prospect Alek Manoah will make his MLB debut at Yankee Stadium

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This article was published 24/05/2021 (1635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alek Manoah made a statement against the New York Yankees during spring training, and now he’s going to get a chance to do it in a regular-season game.

Manoah, one of the Blue Jays’ top pitching prospects, is set to be promoted in time to start Wednesday night’s game in the Bronx. The team had yet to make an official announcement, but the upcoming roster move was first reported by the Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and confirmed by the Star.

The 23-year-old Manoah was Toronto’s first-round pick in the 2019 MLB draft, 11th overall. He made his professional debut later that year for low Class-A Vancouver before spending all last season at the Jays’ alternate training after the minor-league schedule was cancelled because of the pandemic.

Manoah was expected to spend most of 2021 in the minors, but the timeline got moved up because of his performance. The product of West Virginia University tossed seven scoreless innings this spring, including five against the Yankees, while allowing just one hit and striking out 15.

That strong run continued when the Triple-A season opened this month. Manoah made three starts for Buffalo, tossing six innings in each one with 27 strikeouts and just three walks. He scattered seven hits and allowed just one run in a dominating — yet extremely short — stretch for the Bisons. Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins recently admitted Manoah was forcing the issue with the quality of his starts.

Manoah will take the rotation spot left vacant after Anthony Kay was optioned to the minors following a start against the Rays on Friday night. Manoah, ranked the Jays’ No. 5 prospect per MLB Pipeline, hits upper-90s velocity with his fastball and has a sharp slider, but his changeup remains a work in progress and is still used somewhat sparingly.

This promotion wouldn’t be happening if Manoah didn’t pitch well for Buffalo, but it also wouldn’t be happening if the Jays getting the results they wanted on the mound. Their rotation ranks 18th in the majors with a 4.42 ERA, and the club has already used 12 different starting pitchers on the season.

The Jays, currently mired in a season-high six-game losing streak, could use a spark and the hard-throwing right-hander just might be the guy to do it. But as far as debuts go, it doesn’t get much tougher than Yankee Stadium against a team that will enter the series winners of six straight.

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A big moment for a big-time prospect is on deck.

Gregor Chisholm is a Toronto-based baseball columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @GregorChisholm or reach him via email: gchisholm@thestar.ca