5 Blue Jays players that have been major disappointments this season

Alek Manoah

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of them all has been the unexpected decline of former Jays’ ace and pitching sensation Alek Manoah. The former first round draft pick from the 2019 MLB Draft took the MLB by storm in his rookie debut season back in 2021. Despite joining the big league club in late May, Manoah became a key part of the Jays’ starting rotation for the rest of the season. Pitching like a seasoned-veteran, he posted strong numbers across the board, with a 9-2 winning record, 3.22 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, with 127 strikeouts in just 111.2 innings pitched in 20 starts.

If people weren’t impressed already, he quickly followed that up with a Cy Young-calibre season in 2022. In becoming the team’s co-ace along with Kevin Gausman, Manoah compiled a stellar 16-7 record with a 2.24 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, giving up just 49 earned runs, 51 walks and 180 strikeouts in 196.2 innings of work. He would end up being named to his first All-Star game, along with being a finalist for the AL Cy Young award. As a result, many were looking forward to what he had in store for everyone for 2023.

Unfortunately, it has been a complete disaster for Manoah for the 2023 season. Practically almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the big man, as he struggled with control, command and consistency throughout the whole season, ultimately leading to his demotion to the minors on multiple occasions. So far this year, Manoah has posted an unworldly 3-9 record, 5.87 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, giving up 57 earned runs including 15 home runs, 59 walks and 79 strikeouts in just 87.1 innings pitched. As he looks to work on his pitching mechanics to regroup and recapture his pitching magic from the past, the short-term outlook for his future with the ballclub appears cloudy, as it will be up to Manoah to turn things around as soon as possible to become a player of significance once again.