Alek Manoah had a spectacular Triple-A debut for the Buffalo Bisons on May 6 in Trenton, N.J., so Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins headed to the New Jersey capital to see a top prospect Wednesday night.
Things are going well in every facet of the game for the Buffalo Bisons in Trenton, N.J., bu…
Atkins got lots more food for thought from the Jays' No. 1 pick in 2019. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Manoah tossed a no-hitter through five innings and finished with six shutout frames in the Bisons' 12-0 win over Rochester. The Herd is 5-3 in its first eight games.
Manoah struck out 12 in his opener against Worcester and fanned five more Wednesday. In two starts, he's thrown 12 shutout innings, allowed just three hits, walked two, struck out 17 and allowed opposing hitters just an .081 batting average against him.
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"(Atkins) said he threw really good and he's doing what it takes," Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo said on his pregame video call with reporters Thursday morning from Atlanta prior to the Blue Jays' matinee against the Braves. "I was a Triple-A manager for a while there and if a player wants to come to the big leagues, he needs to push the envelope and that's what that kid is doing right now."
Manoah threw 76 pitches, 49 for strikes, and gave up only a leadoff double to left in the sixth by Rochester shortstop Adrian Sanchez. He said he spoke to Atkins on Tuesday and was aware the GM would be in the stands watching.
"He just told me to go out and have fun and keep doing what I'm doing," Manoah told New Jersey reporters after the game. "I would have felt better if there was no hits. I felt pretty good out there. I felt like I was able to get ahead in counts, get guys out early in the count to keep that pitch count low."
The millions of dollars the Blue Jays are spending on the park, albeit not on fan amenities, will ensure the club remains here, Mike Harrington says.
"One good thing he did yesterday was that the GM was there and he didn't try any harder," Montoyo said. "I've been there. I've seen a lot of guys thinking they want to come to the big leagues and all of a sudden the GM is there and they get nervous and don't pitch the same. Manoah, it looks like that didn't bother him and he had another good game."
Is a quick callup of Manoah possible?
"He's got to keep pitching. He's a young kid, first year in Triple-A. Just because somebody had two good starts that doesn't mean, 'All right come to the big leagues,' " Montoyo said. "He's got to keep doing what he's doing, keep improving and hopefully sometime this year maybe. You just never know. There's a lot of guys competing for jobs here but again, he's doing what it takes. His first two starts have been really impressive."
"That's not my decision to make. I just go out there, compete as hard as I can," Manoah said. "That's what they get paid the big bucks to do, make those decisions. I'll leave it in their hands. ... Whenever they think they need me, my job is to continue to compete every 5-6 days whenever I'm given the ball and just give my team the best chance. I really love to throw that baseball."
"Alek has been phenomenal," said Bisons manager Casey Candaele. "With a starter, if you can give your team a chance to win, that's your job. He's done that phenomenally. You can't ask anything more. If they don't score, they can't win. He's doing a pretty good job of that."
