Manoah meets media on eve of MLB debut

Alek Manoah’s rapid ascension through the Toronto Blue Jays organization continued on Tuesday as he met with the media a day before making his Major League debut against the New York Yankees.

The 11th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft made a splash with 12 strikeouts in his Triple-A debut for the Buffalo Bisons on May 6th against Worcester and followed that up with six more scoreless innings in a start against Rochester six days later.

Toronto Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo told the media on Tuesday several times that Manoah earned the promotion with his work for the Bisons in May. Montoyo continued, “when you are at the Triple-A level you keep pushing the envelope, pitching well, and that’s what he did, he deserves the chance to come pitch in the big leagues.” The righty earned a victory in each of his three Bisons’ starts.

Prior to his first Triple-A start Manoah said he was unsure of what to expect, saying, “there’s always that question mark, especially getting thrown into the fire” he continued “my M.O. is just continue to work, put my head down and not worry about those things.”

Manoah finished his first stint with the Herd allowing just one run in 18 innings on the mound, while striking out 27. The burly right-hander went 3-0 over his first three starts of the year with a 0.50 ERA in the process.

Manoah is trying to learn as much as he can as he elevates through the organization. His approach is to “just continuing to learn hitters, continuing to learn their approach, continuing to learn how they’re trying to beat me and understanding what hitters going into a game are reading in the scouting report.” If he is able to do that, Manoah will continue to have the same success in the big leagues as he has been able to enjoy in Triple-A this year.

The rookie made three appearances in spring training this year, pitching twice against the Yankees that included a three-inning start on March 14th. He struck out 15 in seven innings of work in Dunedin.

Making your MLB debut at Yankee Stadium, in the Bronx, is no small feat. Manoah knows that he will have to be in control of his emotions if he wants to succeed. He added that if, “I go out there I give it all I got, in college there were a few times that I had to learn [how] to settle myself down, I think that has part of my development, just understanding that the adrenaline is going to be there, the excitement is going to be there, but how can we channel that onto attacking hitters.” The starter allowed three walks in 18 innings.

Manoah has made just nine minor league appearances since being drafted out of West Virginia University. He pitched under Bisons’ manager Casey Candaele in 2019 with the Vancouver Canadians, making six starts without earning a victory. The right hander collected 27 strikeouts in the Short Season-A Northwest League.

He expects plenty of family to make the trek to Yankee Stadium, including his brother Erik who was drafted by the New York Mets in 2014, and is prepared for them to show their support when to toes the rubber in the middle game of the three-game series between the Blue Jays and Yankees.