Alek Manoah Dominates and Celebrates in 3rd Triple-A Start

Another nearly perfect outing for Alek Manoah in Triple-A as the Blue Jays prospects vies for MLB promotion

Jonathan Araúz's bat split in half as he slammed it on the infield grass.

Just over 60 feet away, Alek Manoah marched off the mound, jawing to his infielders and pounding his chest while a gold chain bounced across his jersey. Araúz was Manoah's 10th strikeout victim of the night. 

The next batter, Danny Santana, chirped at Manoah from the box, clearly displeased with the pitcher's celebrations. But the Toronto prospect didn't seem to care. Two batters later, Manoah finished his sixth inning of one-run ball. He gave up his first score of the season, but completed another dominant Triple-A start and continued to make his case for a big league call up.

Toronto's fifth-ranked prospect faced adversity (by his standards) in his third Triple-A start. He battled command in the first inning, walking the second batter after pulling ahead 1-2. He located his fastball near the bottom of the zone but wasn’t getting calls early, so he turned to his slider.

Manoah threw offspeed pitches in all counts Wednesday, getting ahead of and striking out Yairo Munoz in the first inning all with his slidepiece. The righty finished with 64 strikes on 94 pitches, his highest pitch count of the season.

Over the weekend, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins identified offspeed pitch usage as an area of improvement for the 23-year-old, and it seems Manoah listened. The GM also highlighted changeup selection and general command.

“His fastball is such an effective weapon that he has to challenge himself against certain hitters to use his entire arsenal," Atkins said.

In the second inning Manoah allowed his first run of the season, a homer by Chris Herrmann. He wasn't going to stay perfect all year, but that's not a requirement for an MLB call up. 

Just 18 innings into his Triple-A career, Manoah is doing everything he can to earn that call. Though effectiveness factors into the decision, Atkins said, when the club promotes Manoah is not simply based on a few Triple-A starts. But if these few starts continue to pile up, it won't be long before we see Manoah in the MLB.