Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
Alek Manoah: As Advertised
The stuff plays.
Alek Manoah knew it before his big-league debut, and the six scoreless innings in the first game of Thursday’s double header only confirmed it.
The 23-year-old’s command wasn’t perfect, but Manoah was effective. The Blue Jays fifth ranked prospect lived up to the hype in Toronto’s win, and injected the rotation with the upside it starved.
Susana Lluch took a deep breath before her son’s first MLB pitch. She watched from the Yankee Stadium bleachers as Manoah looked in to Reese McGuire for the sign and began his big-league career with four straight balls.
“I think those first four pitches were the most nervous or most excitement I had all day," Manoah said. "After those first four it was just like ‘I don’t want to suck,’ time to lock it in.”
Manoah stepped back off the mound, muttered to himself, and then prepared for his second batter. The West Virginia draft pick caught the top edge of the strike zone with his fifth pitch and began to settle in. Manoah struck out Rougned Odor on a diving changeup and retired 13 of his next 14 Yankee batters.
“It was about not letting the moment getting too big," Manoah said. "That’s the success that comes of everything in the background.”
Coming to the big leagues with just 35 professional innings, expecting immediate success from Manoah may have been too optimistic. But having used 13 starters already this season, the enticing upside and consistent innings Manoah could provide was too much to keep down. If the righty continues to mow down some of the league’s best, a consistent head of the rotation featuring Ryu-Ray-Manoah-Matz can be a strength of the organization, not just good enough.
Manoah toyed with feel on his slider Thursday, hanging it several times throughout the outing, but his fastball/changeup combination kept Yankee hitters off balance all afternoon. Aaron Judge ended up on his knee swinging through a 3-1 pitch and on the next delivery was pitifully late for Manoah’s second strikeout. Even the first hit he allowed was just a 70 MPH squib that skittered into centerfield.
“When I can get that heater to get ahead in counts that opens the door for everything,” Manoah said.
With an injured Luke Voit and Giancarlo Stanton, Manoah didn’t face the best New York had to offer Thursday, but the righty was everything he was built up to be. And for a Blue Jays team that has cycled through rotation options to start the year, Manoah was everything Toronto needed.
Roster Moves and Injury Updates:
Prior to today's double header, the Blue Jays made several roster moves:
- RHP Alek Manoah promoted to MLB (officially)
- LHP Travis Bergen to 10-day injured list with a left shoulder impingement
- LHP Tommy Milone transferred to 60-day injured list
- LHP Anthony Kay to Major League 10-day injured list with a left fourth digit blister
