Jays starter Alek Manoah hopes to build on his impressive debut season

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This article was published 31/03/2022 (1353 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

DUNEDIN, Fla.—It had longed seemed a forgone conclusion that Jose Berríos would be on the mound for the Blue Jays come opening day, but when Charlie Montoyo made that news official Thursday, it was clear the manager believed there had been more than one contender for the job.

“(Hyun-Jin) Ryu’s done it, (Kevin) Gausman could be, of course (Alek) Manoah,” Montoyo said.

The mention from his manager is a sign of the meteoric rise Manoah has been on since being selected in the first round of the 2019 draft. The 24-year-old right-hander didn’t make his big-league debut until May 27 last season, yet Montoya apparently considered him for one of the most meaningful assignments of the year.

Manoah isn’t convinced. “It’s nice of him to say it,” the Florida native said with a big smile. “I knew I didn’t have a chance, though.”

He should one day if he continues on his current trajectory. That is among Montoyo’s goals for the pitcher this season. The manager has seen other players slump after a breakout rookie year and he hopes Manoah can avoid it.

“He looks the same, that’s good,” Montoyo said. “He worked as hard this off-season and he looks as good as he did last year.”

Manoah had a 3.22 earned-run average in 20 starts last season, with a 1.048 WHIP (walks and hits to innings pitched), and is hoping to log 30 or more starts this year. If 2021 was about fighting for his spot in the rotation, 2022 is about solidifying it.

“Mindset’s the same,” he said. “You’ve got to go out there and compete as hard as you can and give the team the best chance to win.”

Manoah did that Thursday, leading the Jays to a 5-3 home win over the Detroit Tigers. He was pleased with his mix of pitches, his effortless velocity, his consistent release point and the way he attacked the zone. After giving up a couple walks in his past few outings, Manoah was pleased to post a zero in that column of the box score.

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Manoah, who threw 52 pitches over four innings, is on track to make his season debut against the Yankees in New York on April 11, if the weather in Florida this weekend doesn’t alter the Jays’ schedule.

Even the things Manoah didn’t like so much about his outing on Friday, like hitting a batter as he was working on being quick to the plate, were important to the pitcher. He believes his understanding of big-league hitters and their approaches, as well as his own strengths and weaknesses against them, gas improved. And he hopes a refined changeup, and the way he is now mixing his pitches, will keep hitters off-balance.

“Sometimes I tend to just get a little comfortable with the heater and throw it a lot and you kind of know it’s coming,” Manoah said.

It’s a good thing, then, that Manoah is familiar with coming out of nowhere. He’ll look to keep surprising as the season goes on.

“I never really think about going out and pitching bad,” he said. “I trust my work ethic, I trust my routine, I trust my stuff … There’s going to be some tough blows, it’s going to happen, it’s a long season, but I think as long as the goal stays the same, get better every day, and get better as the season goes on, I think we’ll be all right.”