The first thing you’ll notice about Alek Manoah is his energy. Combine that with some off-the-charts confidence, and you get swagger. It’s a weapon just as valuable as a fastball or slider for the Blue Jays’ No. 5 prospect, as ranked by MLB Pipeline.

He’s already got his catch phrases, too. You’ll often hear him say, “As long as it’s still 60 feet, six inches,” he should be just fine. And when it comes to how he matches up against baseball’s best hitters? Well, as he loves to say, “The stuff plays.”

It needs to. Manoah’s expected Major League debut on Thursday at Yankee Stadium isn’t exactly easing the young man in, but that’s not what this season is about, and that’s how this decision by the Blue Jays is so different from recent, much-hyped promotions like Nate Pearson, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette.

“He earned his chance to get here. We’ll see what he does and we’re not going to put that much expectation on him,” said manager Charlie Montoyo. “We’re going to let him pitch and see what he does. I’m glad the expectations aren’t that high, like they were for Vladdy. He’s pitching at Yankee Stadium, but he earned it. He earned his way to pitch here and we’ll see what he does.”

The expectations aren’t that high? Compared to Guerrero, perhaps not, but Blue Jays fans have been shouting Manoah’s name from the rooftops this season, begging for this day to come. Now, it's almost here.

This is different, though, because the Blue Jays are trying to win. Not just next year, but now, today. When Guerrero and Bichette debuted, the Blue Jays were on their way to a 67-95 season that was always expected to be a little ugly, focused more on launching the organization forward than competing for a postseason run. The Blue Jays snuck into the playoffs in 2020, of course, but Pearson’s debut came in a shortened season with mid-range expectations.

Manoah isn’t being brought up to round out his development and build for the future. He’s being brought up to beat the Yankees, period. It’s the same Yankees team he dominated twice in Spring Training, which got this whole hype train rolling, and he’s dedicated himself to taking things a step further since then.

“I’ve continued to learn hitters, continued to learn their approach, continued to learn how they’re trying to beat me,” Manoah explained. “I’m understanding what hitters are reading in the scouting report going into the game and stuff like that. And I’m not letting that take me out of my groove. I’m understanding that hitters might know the heater is coming or the slider, whatever the case may be in certain counts, but the stuff plays. I’ll continue to have confidence in that.”

It’s certainly worked in Triple-A. Manoah posted a 0.50 ERA over three starts with 27 strikeouts and three walks. This isn’t a traditional path to the Majors by any means, but rarely has a prospect put more pressure on this organization with their performance. Dominating more mature hitters in Triple-A only helped his signature confidence.

“There’s always that question mark, getting thrown into the fire. Am I going to be good? Am I as good as they think I am? I just continue to work,” Manoah said. “My M.O. is to continue to work, continue to put my head down and not worry about those things. It’s easy for it to creep in there, but you’ve got to creep it out real quick, go out there and attack.”

All credit goes to Manoah for forcing the Blue Jays’ hand here, but the state of their big league rotation certainly helped. Hyun Jin Ryu has been his classic, ace self, posting a 2.53 ERA up to this point, but it’s been a different story behind him.

Steven Matz opened with a brilliant start to April, then faded and has battled inconsistencies since. Robbie Ray has reinvented himself as a strike-thrower, helping to stabilize the group, but beyond that, it’s been a revolving door. What this group has needed all along is upside.

The Blue Jays hoped that Pearson would provide that early, but he struggled mightily in his 2021 debut and is now back with Triple-A Buffalo. Thomas Hatch is working his way back from injury and could be part of the rotation soon, but Manoah offers a rare ceiling. The pressure is on, but he’s confident you’ll still see the same Manoah. Big, boisterous aggressive, no matter what.

“I’m always a high-energy guy out there between the lines. I give it everything I’ve got and my teammates know that,” Manoah said. “Even if I suck out there, they’re going to know that I sucked at 100%. I give it all I’ve got.”