The Toronto Blue Jays just sent Alek Manoah to their rookie complex in Florida. Yes, Alek Manoah. Alek Manoah the ace, the opening day starter, the guy who came in third in the American League Cy Young voting. The 25 year old who was not only the future, but also the here and now. What exactly went wrong with Manoah this year though? We dive in:

Manoah is a big fella, listed at 280lbs, and some have speculated that the bigger pitchers and the pitch clock just aren’t meshing this year. Manoah is one of the slowest tempo pitchers in all of baseball as well as the heaviest. However, most of the leagues heavier pitchers seem to be doing fine, but it is a small sample size. Of 11 pitchers are over 250lbs (according to CBSsports) their ERAs are all over the place. Which should show that him being a big fella isn’t the reason for this fall. 

Well, what is the reason then? I don’t think there is one major thing to point to, but rather three. 

1. Control 

Manoah’s control hasn’t been there this season. His walk rate is at 14.9%, BB/9 is at 6.5, both of those numbers are up dramatically not only from last year, but also his career. His 42 walks are almost as high as his entire 2022 total (52 in 196 innings). Pair that with an inability to miss bats (K/9 and Strikeout Percentage both are down, even though velocity is the same. Manoah is getting hit harder and more often because he finds himself down in the count. Which leads to the much high batting average on all his pitches across the board in 2023. 

2. The Slider

Moanah’s slider was his putaway pitch in 2021 & 2022. Borderline unhittable in ‘21 opponents hit .146 against it and in ‘22 just .190. Well the riff rate has gone down this year and in 2023, they are hitting .328 and slugging .603 off of his slider. To put that in perspective that would be the third highest slugging percentage in the majors. 

3.  In Need of a Reset  

Maybe there is an injury or something. He’s 20lbs heavier than last, he just logged a hell of a lot of innings last year. I don’t know, but at the Moanah is going he is not going to figure this out in Toronto. Sending him to Florida, and not Buffalo to try to figure everything out seems like the smartest decision. It takes pressure off of him, he won’t get rocked by minor leaguers, and he can try to get right on the mound. A break in the action, skipping a few starts and getting his mind right and retooling himself can be just what Moanah (and the Blue Jays) need. Here’s to hoping one of baseball’s best pitchers last year can return to form.