On May 27th, 2021 the Blue Jays had a doubleheader versus the New York Yankees. The starter for game one is top 3 pitching prospect Alek Manoah. Manoah was the Blue Jays first-round pick in 2019 (11th overall). He did not play many games in the minor leagues however in the few he was feature, he was dominant. Over 6 starts with the Single-A Vancouver Canadians Manoah had a 2.65 ERA and 27 strikeouts through 17 innings. Manoah didn’t pitch in 2020 due to COVID-19 cancelling the minor league season.
He started the 2021 season in Triple-A Buffalo. Through 3 starts he was 3-0 with a 0.50 ERA and 27 strikeouts, leading to his quick call-up. It was safe to say fans were pretty excited to see what he would do in his first major league start. He did not disappoint. Immediately Alek went right after the Yankee lineup. In his first start he went 6.0 IP (7-inning game due to the doubleheader) 7 Strikeouts, no earned runs and only gave up 2 hits.
Alek Manoah quickly became a big fan favourite. By the end of his first season, he finished with a 3.22 ERA through 20 games. In 2022 he even ramped those numbers up, through 31 starts Manoah had a 2.24 ERA and 180 strikeouts, he was also a Cy Young candidate in his first full season in the majors.
The Downfall
The expectations were very high for Manoah coming into 2023, due to his stellar performance the 2 years prior. He was given the opportunity to be the opening-day starter and well… It didn’t go the way Manoah or the Blue Jays had wanted. He went 3.1 Innings giving up 5 runs on 9 hits. Manoah’s next start would go better going 7 innings only allowing 1 hit, but the struggles seemed to continue all season.
His worst start of the season came on June 5th against the Houston Astros, he was only able to get one out giving up 6 runs on 7 hits. This outing would get Manoah sent down to the Florida Complex to work on his pitches and just figure out what is going wrong. Alek got called back up a month later and pitched better for a few games, but was then sent back down in the middle of August.
Manoah was supposed to go to Triple-A Buffalo but supposedly didn’t report. The exact reason why he didn’t report is still unknown. It was reported that Manoah took 2 weeks to get tests to make sure there was not damage to his arm. He did not make any starts for the rest of the year.
So What Now?
The 2024 season will be huge for Manoah, having to prove to everyone that he can still dominate in this league like he did in 2021 and 2022. Most Blue Jays fans are pulling for Manoah to come back to the gritty passionate player he was those years. In a poll done by @vladthebuilder on X 61% of fans voted positively about Manoah. Although that poll only speaks for a small sample size of fans, it shows that Alek still has people in his corner.
Manoah posted videos of him working out in the gym this offseason and the fans have been supporting and rooting for him. I think Alek can definitely come back to his former self in the coming seasons. Toronto has his back.