A 90.7 mph sinker from Manoah to end the top of the 3rd!! @BlueJays | #bisons
Blue Jays: Alek Manoah had his best rehab start with Bisons
Photo credit: © Nathan Ray Seebeck - Imagn Images
Aug 20, 2025, 17:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 20, 2025, 16:26 EDT
Alek Manoah had the best start of the season.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Toronto Blue Jays’ starter made a rehab start for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, going four and two-thirds innings with three hits allowed, one earned run, two walks, and four strikeouts. This was easily Manoah’s best start of his rehab assignment.
His outing didn’t start great, as the lone run he gave up came off the bat of Spencer Jones, a solo shot on a 0-1 pitch with two outs. However, he was able to get two lineouts and a groundout.
Manoah struggled with command in the top of the second inning, giving up a lead-off walk to Jose Rojas. After a flyout, Rojas was erased attempting to steal third, but then Manoah gave up back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases. He was able to get out of it unscathed thanks to a flyout.
The 27-year-old settled in after the second inning. Manoah struck out T.J. Rumfield to start the third, followed by getting Jones to fly out. He ended the inning with a swing-and-miss from Brennen Davis.
In the top of the fourth, Rojas popped out, while Jeimer Candelario and Bryan De La Cruz grounded out. Coming back out in the top of the fifth, Manoah struck out Braden Shewmake and Omar Martinez to end his outing.
Overall, Manoah threw 75 pitches, 44 of which were for strikes. Diving deeper into the stats, Manoah generated eight whiffs, five of which came with his changeup on eight total swings. Both his two-seamer and four-seamer maxed out at 92.6 mph, but averaged between 90.8 mph and 91.4 mph. When Manoah is at his best, his fastball is around 94-95 mph, so this is a bit concerning. Still, it was a much better start than his first outing with the Bisons.
Between his two fastballs, Manoah generated just one whiff on 14 total swings. However, he got eight called strikes with the pitch, for a CSW% of 41%. On top of that, Manoah generated two whiffs on eight total swings with his slider.
Manoah is past the 30-day mark for his rehab assignment, as it began on July 14th. That said, teams can request three separate 10-day extensions for a pitcher rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, effectively making it a 60-day rehab assignment. This means that the Blue Jays won’t need to decide on a roster move until September 12th. Because Manoah’s on the 60-day Injured List, he’s not on the 40-man roster, meaning a player may need to be designated for assignment when mid-September rolls around.
There’s still plenty of time to figure that out. If he continues his rehab assignment, his next start should be on Tuesday.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.