Shocker. Alec Manoa (25-Toronto Blue Jays), one of the top three pitchers in the American League last year, has been sent down to the minors.
Manoa was charged with 11 runs on 10 hits, two walks and three strikeouts in 2⅔ innings against the New York Yankees Rookie Team of the Florida Complex League (FCL) at the Yankee Complex in Tampa, Florida, on Monday (Aug. 28).
In his first start since being demoted from Major League Baseball (MLB) to the Rookie level on June 6, Manoa got off to a shaky start, giving up a run in the first inning, but that was only the beginning of what was to come. After getting out of the bottom of the second with two outs, Manoa walked Edison Duran and then gave up back-to-back singles, followed by a three-run homer to tie the game at 5-5.바카라사이트
The third inning was even worse. A walk and a double to start the inning put runners on second and third, and three straight singles followed a two-run homer by Kanner Delgado one out later. Before I knew it, I was down to six runs in one inning. After retiring the next batter on a fielder’s choice, Manoa faced 20 batters before finally walking off the mound.
According to MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, Toronto manager John Schneider defended Manoah’s performance, saying, “The way he was throwing strikes, his delivery, his tempo, his velocity, it was all positive.” “We’ll see what happens today, but I’m happy with the way he pitched, he’s going in the right direction,” he added.
Although it was only 22 days since his last start, Manoa’s performance was shocking given his performance over the past few seasons. In his major league debut in 2021, Manoa went 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA in 20 games in his first season and finished eighth in American League Rookie of the Year voting. As a rookie, he shadowed Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, to learn his pitching motion and mechanics, and became known to Korean fans as his “best friend” because they often shared meals together.
Last year, he was even better, going 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA. He finished third in the league in the Cy Young Award behind Justin Verlander and Dylan Seager. As a result, he’s been touted as Toronto’s ace of the future.
However, his performance this season has been a far cry from the past two years. Before his demotion to the minors, Manoa went into a shocking slump, going 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA in 13 starts. After more than three weeks off the mound, he still has the most walks (42) in the American League.
After getting hammered for five runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings in his first start (March 31 at St. Louis), Manoa seemed to get back on track in his next outing (April 6 at Kansas City) with a seven-inning, one-hit shutout, but since then he’s lost six straight starts, lasting less than five innings in seven of his 11 appearances, more than half of them on the road. In his last start, on April 6, he gave up six runs on seven hits in ⅓ of an inning at Houston.
“For Manoa to hit the ‘reset’ button was a difficult decision for both the organization and the player,” said MLB.com, which reported on Manoa’s Rookie League start, “but it’s clear that he has a long way to go to make a comeback.”