Alek Manoah Shelled in Single-A Rehab Start

WVU Baseball product Alek Manoah made his first rehab appearance since going on the injured list on March 25 due to inflammation in his right shoulder, starting for the Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto’s Single-A affiliate. The 2019 first round pick struggled mightily, allowing seven runs—six earned—on five hits and four walks over the course of 1.2 innings.

alek manoah's rehab start today pic.twitter.com/1bh8aybO09

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 7, 2024

It’s been a difficult road for Manoah since he finished third in the American League Cy Young race in 2022, his first full season in the big leagues. The 6-foot-6, 285 pound right-hander reportedly showed up to spring training wildly out of shape in 2023, and his earned run average saw a similar jump. After posting a 2.27 ERA with 180 strikeouts in 196.2 innings in 2022, Manoah’s ERA increased to 5.87 with 79 strikeouts in 87.1 innings in 2023, dealing with a dip in velocity and walking more batters than he did the previous year despite pitching less than half the innings. Some speculate Manoah’s issues that, for a methodical pitcher, could’ve stemmed from MLB’s implementation of the pitch clock.

His struggles continued following a rehab assignment with Toronto’s rookie ball team, and Manoah reportedly refused an assignment to Triple-A later in the season. Although Manoah showed up to spring training in shape this season, that didn’t translate to renewed success on the mound. He made just one preseason appearance for the Blue Jays, with the command issues returning on the way to three hit batters in 1.2 innings.

It’s been a brutal few years for the former Mountaineers hurler after a meteoric start to his career. At just 26 years old, though, Alek Manoah should have plenty of time to right the ship.