Alek Manoah Made His Spring Training Debut And Picked Up Right Where He Left Off Last Year.....Being An Absolute Disaster
Toughhhh first start of the spring for Alek Manoah and the Jays. Guy finished third in the Cy Young voting in 2022 and then immediately forgot how to pitch. We talked about how the pitch clock would affect him last year and boy did it ever, it just about ate him up and spit him right back out. He was terrible in 2023, got sent down, like wayyyyy down to regroup and try and get right and that just didn't work. It's okay, new year new him right? So far that doesn't look like something that will happen.I know spring games are meant to work on stuff and get comfortable, but this can't feel good for the Jays and Manoah.
Not only can he not strike anyone out anymore, he also can't control his pitches. Only 1 walk is great, but plunking 3 guys and giving up 4 ER in less than 2 innings in your spring training debut can't be a good sign. Maybe he was working on new stuff, but I don't think he was. This stage of spring you're just going out there to get back into the rhythm and routine, but doesn't seem like the big guy could get close to either. What are the Jays going to do if this keeps up? It isn't a small sample size either, it was all of last season. He was one of the worst pitchers in baseball last year and eventually got sent down to pitch against like 18 year olds. Not a great thing at all for Manoah or Toronto.
Will be interesting to see how they handle him and if he bounces back next start. Chances are he'll find himself and can look somewhat like the pitcher we saw in 2022, but as of now he looks lost. Not throwing pitches for strikes, loud contact, hitting guys, it's like his confidence is shot. Something is obviously wrong with him. His velocity was up but who cares when you don't know where it's going. Maybe Hubbs really did curse him last year when he called his shot and said he would struggle. 21.60 ERA isn't what you want to see out of your guy in what you hope will be a bounce back season.