TORONTO — Hang another ornament on Alek Manoah’s 2022 season, as the Blue Jays’ ace has been named to the All-MLB First Team.
Fresh off a third-place finish in American League Cy Young Award voting, Manoah is joined in the All-MLB First Team rotation by Sandy Alcantara, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez. Teams were selected by combining a 50 percent fan vote with a 50 percent vote from an expert panel.
Manoah’s veteran-like consistency has almost overshadowed just how remarkable his rise has been over the past two years. A top prospect entering Spring Training in 2021, Manoah kicked the door down and made his big league debut early in the season, posting a 3.22 ERA as a rookie. A repeat of that would have been a welcome accomplishment in ’22, but as has been seen dozens of times now, Manoah has a knack for finding another gear.
The big right-hander was one of baseball’s most reliable players in 2022, posting a 2.24 ERA over 196 2/3 innings. In 25 of Manoah’s 31 starts, he threw at least six innings, and he never threw fewer than five. That’s a beautiful fit in any rotation, but especially for last year’s Blue Jays.
Toronto’s rotation looked like a strength entering the year — potentially dominant — but that quickly changed. José Berríos surprisingly struggled, Hyun Jin Ryu was lost to Tommy John surgery in June and Yusei Kikuchi spent the year searching for the strike zone. Fellow right-hander Ross Stripling saved the back of the rotation by stepping in admirably, but without Manoah putting this group on his back, the Blue Jays could have been left on the outside looking in at the postseason.
Manoah is also one of baseball’s most watchable pitchers. Whether he’s pounding his chest, skipping off the mound or jawing with opponents, his starts are a show. For some, that level of energy can spin out of control, but one of Manoah’s greatest strengths has been channeling it for good.
“The No. 1 thing that you can always control is your competitiveness and your energy,” Manoah said in November. “That’s the biggest thing. I’ve put that into my head. It doesn’t matter if my velocity is good that day, if my slider isn’t sliding or my changeup isn’t mixing in well. I just go compete. I feel like I was able to do that.”
Manoah’s season didn’t end how he’d hoped, of course, allowing four runs over 5 2/3 innings to the Mariners in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. He’s built for the spotlight, though, and entering next season at age 25 leading this rotation, Manoah should have plenty more opportunities to pitch in the biggest moments.
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