BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Alek Manoah tends to talk about baseball in the abstract.

He dances between philosophies, muses on the meaning of it all and peppers you with charismatic catchphrases before dropping in a reminder that the topic all along has been, well, baseball.

Manoah’s physical gifts help. Every bit of 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, with a fastball that reaches into the upper-90s, the Blue Jays’ No. 5 prospect passes every eye test. This spring and into the early weeks of the Triple-A season, few pitchers in professional baseball were better, as Manoah forced his big league debut well ahead of schedule.

The worry with a prospect making such a meteoric rise, though, is how they’ll handle failure. That’s part of the gig. Most prospects learn how to struggle, adapt, then succeed anew in Low-A, but Manoah shot past that and onto the Blue Jays roster. His confidence that he’ll be able to handle the adversity of baseball, of course, has very little to do with the sport itself.

“I’ve been in a lot tougher situations than the bases being loaded, so when the bases are loaded, it’s still all fun and games for me,” Manoah said. “I work really hard. I take this really personally, because it’s something I want to do for a really long time. At the same time, I understand there’s more to life. That allows me to navigate the pressure. I’ve been in tough situations before. I wouldn’t consider pitching the toughest of situations, where it’s life or death.”

Manoah got a taste of this recently. After dominating the Yankees in his MLB debut, Manoah was hit hard by the Marlins, allowing three home runs and lasting just 3 1/3 innings. When he spoke after the game, you wouldn’t know it.

The right-hander’s big, boisterous mound presence is, by all accounts, the same person you'd see off the field. The idea of “being yourself” sounds simple, a subconscious thing we all do when we wake up, but it’s not as easy when thousands of eyes and incredible expectations rest on you.

The Blue Jays have their share of individuals, especially on the mound. Jordan Romano frantically paces the bullpen, then fits in a quick squat workout between pitches in the game. Rafael Dolis gives you time to cook dinner between pitches. That’s each of them being their version of themselves.

“When you are yourself, you don’t have to think about being who you want to be,” Manoah said. “When you’re yourself, you don’t have to think about anything, you just go pitch. If what makes Romano good is that mean, big beard and doing 50 squats ... he’s not thinking about squatting. That’s just what he does. That’s who he is. He’s not thinking about being crazy or aggressive. That’s who he is. He is aggressive. When you have that and all he’s got to think about is pitching, it’s the best of both worlds meeting up with each other.”

There’s a difference between being yourself and controlling yourself, too. Manoah’s high school coach, Fred Burnside, taught him to “stay with his team” and be a winner. If he was going to be the loudest kid on the team, make sure all of that energy is placed behind your teammates, not scattering off in all directions.

If Manoah wanted to be “the big guy” who throws gas, beats his chest and struts off the mound following a big strikeout, chains bouncing off the logo of his jersey, the other team would notice. They’d only want to hit him harder, too, so how would Manoah respond when they did? Understanding and embracing that has been at the core of Manoah’s development.

“Learning to listen before speaking, and understanding other people’s points and perspectives keeps me grounded a little bit,” Manoah explained. “When I was younger, I was just giving my all and I didn’t care who was in my way, I was just going to do what I’ve got to do. You’re not really being considerate for teammates, coaches, things like that. The higher level you get [to], everybody is competing hard. You just have to learn how to control that adrenaline. You have to learn how to be calm but crazy all at the same time.”

Calm but crazy. Manoah believes in having both, not finding a comfortable middle ground. He believes in letting himself get as amped up as he can, feeding off either the home crowd or his love for quieting the fans in another stadium, then finding a way to control that energy.

“He seems to have a pretty good heartbeat, as we saw in the Bronx and Spring Training,” said general manager Ross Atkins. “We are exceptionally encouraged by the consistency he’s had when the lights aren’t on, when the cameras aren’t on. That is sometimes the hardest part. As a pitcher, I remember Orel Hershiser saying to me, ‘You’re not a professional until you enjoy the preparation.’ That really resonated with me, and I see Alek embracing that, embracing that preparation, which is very exciting.”

This has all come with a wave off attention, too. “Call up Manoah” became the rallying cry of Blue Jays fans through March, April and May. His social media accounts have blown up. There are days where he sifts through notifications and tries to remember to answer each text from his family members, but it’s a lot to handle while you acclimate yourself to life in the big leagues. For now, he’s trying to block out the noise.

“I think I’m more worried about controlling my mom’s fame right now," Manoah said.