Next Guys Up: Alek Manoah

The Blue Jays knew they were receiving a power arm for the future of their rotation when they drafted the right-handed throwing Alek Manoah 11th overall in the 2019 draft. Manoah — a former West Virginia Mountaineer — is of very impressive size, standing at 6’6 and weighing 260 lbs. His large and strong build is one of many reasons he could be a significant player in the future.

It wasn’t until his final year at UWV that Manoah worked exclusively as a starter, and his move to the rotation became his best season by far. After a 3.07 and a 4.00 ERA in his first two years, he came down to just 2.08, and cut his WHIP to 0.91 in year three. He also raised his K/9 to 12.0 and lowered his BB/9 to just 2.2, which goes to show both his overpowering stuff, and his impressive control. It couldn’t have been a surprise to anybody who followed his 2019 NCAA season that Alek Manoah would come off of the board in the first round.

Due to heavy usage in the college postseason run, Manoah’s use was limited with the Jays. After he was assigned to short-season A ball, he made 7 starts, pitching only 17 innings and giving up 5 earned runs while averaging 14.3 K/9. Manoah’s best pitch is his sinking fastball, which sits in the upper 90s, and has a lot of movement. His slider is his go-to strikeout pitch, and he has made improvements to his change up. While his control was a concern at the start of his Mountaineer career, it seems that he has significantly worked on and improved his accuracy.

Alek Manoah has more than enough tools to succeed at the Major League level. His fastball appears to be the second best in the organization, only to the highest rated organizational prospect, Nate Pearson. Manoah is still a few seasons away (2022 MLB ETA), and will likely start the season in high A Dunedin, but will be bringing his heavy sinker-slider mix to the forefront of the Toronto rotation soon enough.