Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Alek Manoah has had a horrible 2023 season.
The Blue Jays sent him to the Complex League a few weeks ago with his 6.36 ERA in 58 innings.
That’s very, very different from the 2.24 ERA he posted last year.
To remedy the situation, the team decided to give him a start in the minor leagues.
That start came on Tuesday, and it wasn’t pretty.
On the contrary: It was an ugly display that Manoah is nowhere near ready to return to the rotation in the big leagues.
Alek Manoah making his first start as a rookie today against the Florida Complex League Yankees:
2.2 IP, 11 ER, 10 H, 2 HR, 3 K, 2 BB pic.twitter.com/ZV3dBVd2n9
— Talking about baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 27, 2023
He allowed 11 earned runs in 2.2 innings in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.
Phew.
The fans, of course, reacted to its start with comments, memes and everything else you can imagine.
—Royal Retros (@RoyalRetros) June 27, 2023
consistent . i’ll give him that
—Darver Carvis (@DarverCarvis) June 27, 2023
As you can probably imagine, there were a lot of sarcastic comments.
he gave the controller to his little brother nothing to worry about
— Portland Pickles (@picklesbaseball) June 27, 2023
Manoah’s fall has been one of the most shocking in recent memory, not just in MLB but in professional sports as well.
The guy was a Cy Young finalist last year in the American League.
This year, hitters of all levels are hitting it.
There are definitely some mechanical glitches you need to fix before you head back, but most of all, you need to get your confidence back and it doesn’t seem like you have it.
It would be a mistake for the Blue Jays to call him at this point, but there’s no word yet on what the next step in his process will be.
However, it is too soon to give up on Manoah.
NEXT:
Yankees fan adds context to Alek Manoah’s nightmarish start
