Part 1: Comparing Alek Manoah’s rookie season to former Blue Jays pitchers

Marcus Stroman

Rookie Season: 26 games (20 starts); 130.2 IP; 3.65 ERA; 111 strikeouts; 1.171 WHIP

Drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round in the 2012 MLB Draft, Marcus Stroman was one of the top pitching prospects in the organization at the time of his debut and would have made his big league appearance earlier than the 2014 season if it wasn’t for the 50 game suspension he had to serve to begin the 2013 campaign for a banned stimulant.

Stroman would be called up to the Blue Jays in early May in a relief capacity before becoming a starter towards the end of the month, eventually making 20 starts for the club. The right-hander would pitch well alongside R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle that season, eventually becoming one of the Blue Jays top pitchers in the mid-2010s until being traded to the New York Mets at the 2019 trade deadline. For his career, the Duke alum sports a 3.63 ERA with 853 strikeouts through 1028.1 innings pitched and is currently a free agent heading into this upcoming offseason.

Crunching the Numbers

Manoah edges out Stroman in terms of ERA, with both players making the same amount of starts, although the former Blue Jays pitcher does have six relief appearances which puts him ahead in terms of total appearances and innings pitched. The 6’6″ righty also has the numbers in terms of strikeouts (127 vs. 111), WHIP (1.048 vs. 1.171), and H/9 (6.2 vs. 8.6) while Stroman has the advantage in terms of walks (28 vs. 40) and HR/9 (0.5 vs. 1.0).

Both pitchers were great for the Blue Jays in their rookie season and both have a lot of similarities, especially with their fiery personalities on the mound. While the relationship between Stroman and the Blue Jays would sour over time and eventually see the righty shipped out to the Mets, he recently stoked the fires by stating that he would be open to returning to the Jays, an idea that has fans still on the fence about at a potential reunion.