Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah looked like anything but an All-Star-caliber pitcher during his debut rookie-level rehab start on Tuesday.
Taking the mound in the Florida Complex League, Manoah allowed 11 runs over the course of 2 1/3 innings on 26 pitches, including 15 thrown in the second inning. That performance, certainly not up to par with what the Blue Jays need from a 2022 Cy Young contender, still didn't discourage Toronto. In fact, the showing was deemed an "encouraging" one.
"I wish everyone had all the information we do, I mean we were surprised of his results from his day yesterday," Toronto skipper John Schneider told MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM on Wednesday. "The command of the fastball was probably -- exceeded our expectations in terms of going up the zone with it and where it was located. ... What we took out of it was much more positive than what his line score showed."
Scheider's final takeaway: "Overall, just a lot of really encouraging signs."
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Manoah's downfall comes at an extremely inconvenient time for Toronto, flirting with the bottom of the American League East just three games ahead of the Boston Red Sox 80 games into the season. Teeter-tottering in the standings throughout the first half, the Blue Jays likely won't lean on Manoah anytime soon unless the right-hander rediscovers his stride from a year ago.
Before being demoted to the minors, Manoah went 1-7 with a 6.36 ERA with the Blue Jays. The 25-year-old got lit up, allowing six earned runs and recording just one out during his last start for Toronto back on June 5.
Manoah has allowed multiple earned runs in his last seven consecutive outings at the big league level.
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