Another day, another article focusing on past drafts, as we’re now a week away from the 2022 MLB draft.

I’ve said it before, but I peaked in 2019. I was in shape, I was in school and things were looking up in the last year before COVID. In my opinion, the Jays picked the best player in the draft, who we’ll be looking at first.
They also drafted a player involved in a 2020 trade, which was a win for both teams involved. Lastly, the high schooler they picked in the third round has had a great start to his 2022 season.
Alek Manoah:
We all know about Alek Manoah, who was drafted with the 11th overall pick. The 24-year-old has developed into the ace of the Blue Jays staff, which is quite surprising considering he only pitched 35 innings in the minors.
He started his professional career with the short season Vancouver Canadians, posting a 2.65 ERA and a 2.48 FIP in 17 innings pitched. He struck out plenty as he had a K/9 of 14.29, while he kept his BB/9 down at 2.65.
He developed a ton in the alternate site during the COVID season, which led to a start in Triple A in 2021. Manoah dominated, and I don’t say that lightly. He posted a 0.50 ERA and a 2.25 FIP in 18 innings pitched. Big Puma had a K/9 of 13.50 with a BB/9 of 1.50, this led to a call up in May.
While Manoah didn’t quite dominate the bigs like he did in Trip …

Read More

Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation