Manoah named Triple-A East Pitcher of the Week

Buffalo Bisons starter Alek Manoah has been named Triple-A East Pitcher of the Week for the Week of May 4-9.

Manoah was absolutely electric in his first start of the season, May 6 against the Worcester Red Sox. The Blue Jays #6 prospect by MLB.com allowed just two hits and struck out 12 with no walks over six innings of work. It was Manoah's first start above the Single-A level as the big righty had thrown just 17.0 innings at short-season Vancouver prior to 2020.

The strikeout total was the highest for a Bisons pitcher since Jacob Waguespack fanned 12 in his first Bisons start on August 2, 2018 against Lehigh Valley. Manoah's total, however, was the most for a Herd pitcher in the modern era who was also making their Triple-A debut.

Manoah was the Blue Jays first round draft pick (11th overall) in the 2019 draft out of West Virginia University. Since his electric debut, Manoah has added a second impressive start as he threw six shutout innings on Wednesday night against the Red Wings. While he only fanned five batters in that second start, he held Rochester hitless until the top of the sixth inning to improve his record to 2-0 on the young season.