For Manoah, focus squarely on Opening Day

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- How do you measure a Spring Training? Alek Manoah’s answer has changed over the years.

Two years ago, he came in as the Blue Jays’ No. 7 prospect, a first-round Draft pick with just 17 innings of pro experience. Manoah needed results -- and he got them, mowing through the Yankees’ lineup twice to create a wave of momentum that carried him to the big leagues in May.

Now that Manoah is established as one of baseball’s premier starters, though, Thursday’s 2-2 tie against the Pirates and the numbers in the box score don’t mean much. They won’t for another four weeks.

“Opening Day,” Manoah said with a smirk. “That’s when it all matters. You can have a terrible spring, then on the day Opening Day comes, you throw seven shutty and spring doesn’t matter.”

For what it’s worth, Manoah threw 1 2/3 innings in his spring debut, allowing one run on three hits while striking out a pair. The Blue Jays didn’t want Manoah to pass 40 pitches, so his day ended at 37, but the big right-hander won’t give much thought to these numbers. Instead, he’s looking to get comfortable in his own skin again, repeat his delivery and reacquaint himself with his impressive mix of pitches.

Within this calmer buildup, Manoah can focus on some finer points in his game. When you’re trying to make a club or accelerate your path to the big leagues, you throw what works. At Manoah’s stage, he can tinker with individual pitches, including an improving changeup that is moving differently than last season’s version.

“I feel really good about that pitch to both sides of the plate, both righties and lefties,” Manoah said. “I threw some good ones to lefties, then threw some to righties that were kind of down. I’ll continue to throw it and continue to build confidence with it.”

Manoah was his cool self on the mound, too, and the pitch timer didn’t seem to be an issue at any point for a pitcher who tended to work slower prior to this season. Manoah, in his classic way, has said all along that he’ll simply turn the pitch timer into an advantage that he holds over hitters. That’s just the way his mind works.

Manoah still has the big picture in mind, though. These smaller focal points in Spring Training are meant to come together and produce a better season, which he believes is possible even after posting a 2.24 ERA in 2022 and finishing third in American League Cy Young Award voting, behind only Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease.

“I love the guys that are in that locker room,” Manoah said. “We love playing with each other and competing with one another. I don’t think it’s a matter of looking ahead. We’re just excited to go out there and compete every day with each other. I said it earlier, if you don’t go 34-0 with a 0.00 ERA, you’ve got areas to work on and areas to improve.”

This is all so much more than you’d expect from a 25-year-old.

Across baseball, there are countless examples of top prospects who never reached their potential or couldn’t match their raw talent with a proper mental approach and day-to-day plan. This seems to be a strength of Manoah’s through two seasons, showing a maturity that the Blue Jays’ staff is quick to praise.

“I think we can say that about him for a variety of different reasons,” said manager John Schneider. “He’s not backing down at big points of the season, understanding what it takes to get ready for a season, understanding his workload last season and adjusting accordingly, things like that. He continues to show that he has a really good plan going for a young guy.”

By the time these scores and numbers really start to matter -- that’s March 30 in St. Louis for Opening Day -- Manoah will be expected to lead this Blue Jays rotation once again. He’s got Kevin Gausman alongside him, with José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and likely Yusei Kikuchi rounding out an impressive group. But when Manoah is at his best, he’s the heartbeat.

Come September, it’s likely that Manoah will be among the league’s leaders in innings pitched, potentially chasing a Cy Young once again. At that point, like he says, what happened in March won’t matter much.