Blue Jays All-Star Shelled In First Rookie-Level Rehab Start

The rise and fall of Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah is nothing short of astonishing.

Manoah exploded onto the scene in 2022, earning his first All-Star selection and finishing third in American League Cy Young voting. In 2023, Manoah compiled a 6.36 ERA in 13 starts and lost 7-of-8 decisions. That intense slide influenced a drastic decision from Toronto, who sent him down to their pitching lab in the Florida Complex League to work with the rookie-level team and find what went wrong.

So far, so terrible.

Manoah made his first start in the FCL on Tuesday, putting together one of the worst stat lines you could imagine from a Major League Baseball All-Star against a bunch of children. The 25-year-old allowed 11 earned runs on 10 hits, giving up two home runs and striking out just three across 2 2/3 innings pitched.

That looks bad, especially when you take into account who he was facing.

The Yankees’ FCL lineup that shelled Manoah has an average age of 18.8, according to Max Goodman of NJ.com. There were five players born in 2004 or later.

The pitch clock had a clear impact on Manoah, who very well could have been throwing specific pitches in his rehab start, but the drop in production has been insane nonetheless. The Blue Jays could soon have another decision to make.