Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah made his first official minor-league start on Tuesday since being optioned to the minors in early June. From a results-level perspective, it did not go well.
Indeed, Manoah was scorched by the New York Yankees' Florida Complex League team. He completed 2 2/3 innings, over which he yielded 11 runs on 10 hits (two home runs) and two walks. He did strike out three batters.
To be fair to Manoah, it's likely that he was working on something during Tuesday's outing, be it altered mechanics or a tweaked arsenal. That doesn't make his statline totally irrelevant, but there is often a context in these situations that gets lost from looking just at the linescore. Still, it's probably not an encouraging sign for the Blue Jays that he had such struggles against competition that is, to put it kindly, well beneath big-league quality.
Manoah, 25, was demoted after compiling a 6.36 ERA (64 ERA+) and a 1.14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 58 innings across his first 13 starts. The tipping point came on June 5, when he surrendered six runs on seven hits and a walk while recording just a single out against the Houston Astros.
Manoah was one of the best starters in the American League last season, finishing the year with a 2.24 ERA (168 ERA+) and a 3.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He placed third in AL Cy Young Award balloting, as well as 17th in Most Valuable Player Award voting.
The Blue Jays could use a resurgent Manoah if they're to hold onto the AL's third and final wild-card spot the rest of the way. Toronto enters Tuesday with a 43-36 record, good for a half-game lead over the Astros.
