Alek Manoah

Alek Isaac Manoah (born January 9, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He is ranked 5th on Major League Baseball's 2021 Top 30 Blue Jays prospects list.[1]

Alek Manoah
Toronto Blue Jays
Pitcher
Born: (1998-01-09) January 9, 1998
Homestead, Florida
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Career

Manoah attended South Dade High School in Homestead, Florida.[2] As a junior, he hit .492 with five home runs and 32 RBIs.[3] That summer, he played in the Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at Wrigley Field.[4] During his senior year, he signed to play college baseball at West Virginia University.[5] Manoah was not drafted in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft out of high school and thus enrolled at West Virginia.

In 2017, as a freshman at West Virginia, Manoah appeared in 19 games (ten starts), pitching to a 1-1 record with a 3.07 ERA,[6] earning a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.[7] As a sophomore in 2018, Manoah went 3-5 with a 4.00 ERA in 23 games (eight starts).[8][9] He particularly struggled with command, posting a 1.50 WHIP.[10] That summer, he pitched in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Chatham Anglers where he went 4-3 with a 3.57 ERA in nine starts.[11] Prior to the 2019 season, Manoah was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America.[12] During the season, Manoah was named to the Golden Spikes Award watchlist[13] along with unanimously being named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year.[14] At the time he received the award, he was 8-3 with a 1.91 ERA in 14 starts, striking out 125 batters in 94 innings.[15] He finished his junior year with a 9-4 record and a 2.08 ERA over 16 starts, compiling 144 strikeouts over​108 1⁄3 innings.[16]

Manoah was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[17] He was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays with the 11th overall pick.[18] He signed for $4.55 million,[19] and made his professional debut with the Vancouver Canadians on July 27,[20] and spent the remainder of the season there. Over six starts, Manoah compiled a 2.65 ERA with 27 strikeouts over 17 innings.

Pitching style

Manoah features an upper 90s mph fastball, a low 90s mph cutter, and a slider that he learned from watching Dellin Betances on Rob Friedman's Twitter account.[21][22]

Personal

Manoah's older brother, Erik, was drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round of the 2014 MLB draft[23]

References
  1. "MLB 2021 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. "South Dade has the talent to win another state baseball title". Miami Herald. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  3. "WVU Announces Baseball Signing Class". 247sports.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  4. "South Dade's Alek Manoah Pitches As An All-American". South Dade News Leader. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  5. "Four South Dade Buccaneer Baseball Players Sign Letters of Intent". USA Today. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  6. "Alek Manoah hopes to have breakout season". The 3rd Man In. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  7. "2017 All-Big 12 Baseball Team and Awards Announced". Big 12 Sports. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  8. "Manoah gets the nod to start on opening day". The Morgantown News. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  9. "Former South Dade star pitcher has a unique opportunity during the 2019 MLB Draft". Miami Herald. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  10. "Alek Manaoh Hopes To Lead Strong WVU Pitching Staff". BlueGoldNews.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  11. "WVU baseball: All-American Alek Manoah gets 'serious,' ready to lead Mountaineer pitching staff". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  12. "Roundup: WVU's Alek Manoah named preseason All-American". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  13. "Roundup: WVU baseball downs Maryland 3-1". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  14. "WVU baseball: Alek Manoah named Big 12 Pitcher of the Year; Mazey named Coach of the Year". Charleston Gazette-Mail. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  15. "Mazey, Manoah garner Big 12 honors". The Morgantown News. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
  16. Staff, BarDown (2019-06-03). "Alek Manoah shares special moment with his family after getting drafted by the Blue Jays - Article". BARDOWN. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  17. "MLB.com 2019 Prospect Watch". MLB.com. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  18. "Blue Jays select Alek Manoah 11th overall". MLB.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
  19. "Blue Jays sign first-round pick Alek Manoah and four other draftees". Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  20. Province, The; Sports; Baseball; Email, Share Steve Ewen: Blue Jays first rounder Alek Manoah joins C's Tumblr Pinterest Google Plus Reddit LinkedIn; Tumblr; Pinterest; Plus, Google; Reddit; LinkedIn (2019-07-29). "Steve Ewen: Blue Jays first rounder Alek Manoah joins C's | The Province". Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  21. Biertempfel, Rob. "The Pirates have West Virginia's Alek Manoah on their draft..." The Athletic. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  22. "Alek Manoah, West Virginia Ace, Boosts His MLB Draft, NCAA Tournament Stock". www.baseballamerica.com. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
  23. "South Dade Ace Signs With The Mets". South Dade News Leader. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
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