Alek Manoah's disastrous Triple-A performance somehow a step in the right direction

After a 2022 season in which Alek Manoah made the All-Star Game, he was never able to return to form for the Toronto Blue Jays. Last season, Manoah struggled in the majors and was sent down to the minor leagues twice that year. This year, Manoah was looking to get back on track and try to return to that 2022 form where he was a legitimate Cy Young Award contender.

Manoah is playing for Triple-A Buffalo to recover from shoulder soreness felt during spring training. On Saturday afternoon, Manoah pitched in his first game for the Bisons against the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A affiliate for the Washington Nationals. Manoah pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out four batters on 78 pitches.

It's not the greatest of starts for Manoah, but it was significantly better than his previous start in Single-A Dunedin.

Alek Manoah shows improvement in Triple-A start Saturday, but wasn't perfect

Back on Apr. 7, Manoah struggled mightily against the Lakeland Flying Tigers, the Single-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Manoah pitched just 1.2 innings, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on five hits while striking out two batters and issuing four walks on 58 pitches. Opposing batters had a .500 average against Manoah, who left the game with a staggering 32.40 ERA.

Manoah's outing in Triple-A was vastly better as compared to his Single-A start. Manoah does, however, carry a 10.80 ERA thus far in Triple-A.

That same day, the Blue Jays saw Yariel Rodriguez make his major league debut against the Colorado Rockies. Rodriguez struck out six batters in 3.2 innings while allowing one earned run on four hits in 3.2 innings pitched. The Blue Jays won 5-3.

There is still work that needs to be done for manager John Schneider to give the thumbs up for Manoah to get another chance in the starting rotation. Even though the box score is far from pretty, there are signs that Manoah is improving.