Manaea shows return to form in second start

MESA, Ariz. -- An immediate concern surrounding this year’s compressed Spring Training was over how much pitchers could get built up in such a short amount of time. With only two weeks until Opening Day, Sean Manaea appears to be ramping up just fine.

Making his second start of the Cactus League, Manaea turned in the deepest outing of any A’s starter so far, pitching into the fifth inning of Thursday’s 5-3 loss to the Rangers at Hohokam Stadium. The left-hander struck out one batter and allowed just one run on one hit and one walk through 4 2/3 innings.

“Especially after how the last [start] went, getting into the fifth is big,” Manaea said. “[Pitching coach Scott Emerson] asked how I was going out of the fourth and I said I was good. I’ll take that.”

Manaea’s sharp outing was a return to form after an uncharacteristic spring debut in which his struggles with fastball command led to an early first-inning exit. Location of the heater was more to his standards this time around, as he threw first-pitch strikes to 11 of his 17 batters faced. In total, he was much more assertive, throwing 35 of his 57 pitches for strikes.

“Fastball command was really good today,” Manaea explained. “Moving it in and out. Glove side to righties was really good today. Had a couple of swings and misses over the top of it. I tried to go up with some fastballs today and they didn’t chase. But those were in the right zone, for the most part, so it’s something to build off of.”

In the past few years, velocity has been a hot topic of discussion with Manaea. Showing off a mid-90s fastball earlier in his career, the 30-year-old lefty has seen that speed fluctuate more recently. There are times when he can still dial it up to around 92-94 mph. On Thursday, his fastball sat between 88-90 mph.

Where Manaea’s velocity is on a given day can vary. He’s learned to deal with the decreased velocity over time by focusing on the improvement of his command, emerging as one of the better control pitchers in the game. Last season, Manaea averaged 2.06 walks per nine innings, which ranked sixth-best among qualified American League starting pitchers.

“If you’re able to put it where you want, I think you can pitch with strictly fastballs,” Manaea said. “Being able to throw it in certain areas. I don’t try to fluctuate speeds, but even just fastballs moving in and out to keep guys guessing is a really devastating weapon.

“When you’re only pitching at 87-88, you really have to work on that stuff. Not trying to be too fine, but you definitely have to be a lot more careful without 96.”

Vogt back in green and gold
The Stephen Vogt reunion is official, with the A’s announcing his signing to a one-year Major League deal on Thursday. After passing his physical in the afternoon, the former fan favorite made a brief visit to the clubhouse at Hohokam Stadium, where a locker was already set up with his name and No. 21 jersey.

Few players from Vogt’s first tenure in Oakland (2013-17) remain. One of those is Manaea, whose Major League debut came on April 29, 2016, against the Astros at the Coliseum. Vogt was behind the plate that night, serving as a calming presence for the then-24-year-old lefty.

“He’s the man,” said Manaea of Vogt. “Over the years, he’s been that guy to remind me to slow down. He’s always been one of the coolest dudes in pro ball. Super excited to have him back.”