Why Blue Jay Alek Manoah deserves some love in AL rookie of the year discussion

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This article was published 25/09/2021 (1830 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For all the talk around the Blue Jays and individual awards this year — and there has been a lot of it — one player’s bid has been quieter than the rest.

Alek Manoah for American League rookie of the year.

This month, the 23-year-old right-hander earned a bit of support from a panel of experts in an MLB.com poll. Manoah, drafted in the first round in 2019, made his big-league debut on May 27 and has been a mainstay of the rotation ever since.

But how close is he to winning, really? Is he Robbie Ray/Cy Young close? Or Vladimir Guerrero Jr./MVP close? Or is Manoah more like teammates Marcus Semien and Teoscar Hernández, who are sure to get some top-10 votes for MVP but won’t touch the hardware?

Let’s take a look.

The big picture

Unlike in the National League, where Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India seems to be walking away with top rookie honours, the AL race is much tighter, which bodes well for Manoah. Fourteen AL players received at least one vote in MLB.com’s poll. The odds, however, favour a non-pitcher winning. On the Sports Betting Dime website, four of the top six AL candidates are position players.

The field

• Position players: Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, who had a monster post-season in 2020 but still qualifies for the award, was tied for the best fWAR among AL rookies at 2.6 (all stats through Friday) and led all first-year players in doubles (31). His .273 average was tops on the Rays — over .300 since the all-star game. Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia is the other rookie with a 2.6 fWAR, and is neck-and-neck with Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Ryan Mountcastle in the power categories. Heading into the weekend, Mountcastle led first-year players in home runs (31) and had 74 RBIs. Garcia was tops in RBIs (75) with 30 homers, and his defensive play might tip the scales: plus-11 outs above average and seven assists.

Also: Rays shortstop Wander Franco, Detroit Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo and catcher Eric Haase, Chicago White Sox outfielder/first baseman Andrew Vaughn.

• Pitchers: The race is just as tight. Houston Astros right-hander Luis Garcia led AL rookies in fWAR (3.3) and wins (11) while sitting second with 150 1/3 innings and 161 strikeouts. Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase had the best ERA — 1.35 in 66 2/3 innings — and 24 saves in 29 opportunities, the most among first-year relievers in either league. Detroit’s Tarik Skubal was tops with 162 strikeouts, and you’ll find the Rays’ Shane McClanahan, the Seattle Mariners’ Logan Gilbert and the Oakland Athletics’ Cole Irvin near the top of the list in several categories.

Also: Oakland’s James Kaprielian, Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Whitlock.

Manoah’s case

His ascension to the big leagues was impressive, a little more than two years into his professional career. Sunday’s start against the Minnesota Twins will be his 19th, more than double the number he made in the minor leagues. His seven wins are tied for fourth among rookies, and his 1.6 fWAR ranks seventh among first-year pitchers. Other strengths — such as grinding out performances when he doesn’t have his good stuff, picking up his teammates — don’t necessarily show up in the numbers.

Only two Jays have ever been voted rookie of the year, both infielders: Alfredo Griffin (1979) and Eric Hinske (2002).

In the end, is Manoah likely to make it three? Probably not.

Does he deserve to be part of the conversation? Most definitely.

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy