Instant Fantasy Reaction: Sean Manaea latest in wave of stud pitchers
Like Blake Snell and Jose Berrios before him, the Athletics lefty is causing a stir in Fantasy. Al Melchior looks the impact he could make the rest of this season.
By
Al Melchior
•
2 min read
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For the fourth time over the span of a week, a top pitching prospect will be called up to make his major league debut. Following in the footsteps of Blake Snell, Aaron Blair and Jose Berrios, Sean Manaea will take the mound for the Athletics this Friday to face the Astros.
It's hard not to get caught up in the excitement. Wherever Manaea goes, batters strike out. In 214 minor league innings, Manaea has collected 257 strikeouts, and he has never posted a K/9 ratio below 10.0 at any stop. In last year's Arizona Fall League, the lefty racked up 33 Ks in just 25 2/3 innings. He continued to draw attention this spring, when he struck out 16 batters in 14 1/3 Cactus League innings.
Manaea will fill the rotation spot formerly held down by Eric Surkamp, and his only near-term competition for the fifth starter's job is Jesse Hahn. In fact, if not for a blister, the A's could have chosen Hahn for Friday's start.
For a pitcher with a minor league career 2.82 ERA to go along with his robust K-rates, Manaea does inspire some worries for owners who want to roster him in standard and shallow mixed leagues. He has had trouble staying healthy, which is how he amassed just 74 1/3 innings last season. Even this spring, Manaea succumbed to a strained groin, though he was ready to make his season debut for Triple-A Nashville on April 11.
Before trading him to the A's (along with Aaron Brooks) for Ben Zobrist, the Royals sped Manaea through their minor league system. Oakland kept him on the fast track, starting him off in Triple-A this season after pitching just seven games for Double-A Midland last season. As impressive as Manaea has been at the upper levels, he has pitched just 67 2/3 innings above Advanced Class A.
Though injury-proneness and inexperience make Manaea less desirable than Berrios, his consistent ability to get strikeouts while maintaining good control renders him at least as worthwhile to own as either Snell or potential Pirates callup Tyler Glasnow. It's also encouraging to see that Manaea has thrived when facing the toughest minor league hitters. According to MLBfarm.com, he has held prospects who have ranked in MLB.com's top 20 lists to a .223 batting average over 264 at-bats. Manaea has also been successful in striking out top prospects, compiling a 35.6 percent K-rate.
Facing right-handed batters has also not been an obstacle for Manaea. Across three levels of the minors, he held right-handed opponents to a .198/.279/.275 slash line last season. Strangely, Manaea had a much more difficult time against lefties (.330/.388/.511), though he faced them in only half as many plate appearances.
If Manaea struggles, it's likely that he will give way to Hahn. But if he makes the transition to the majors as well as he has to each level of the minors. he should be here to stay. Factor in that he will benefit from a home park that squelches home runs and hits on balls in play, and it's conceivable that Manaea will be on standard mixed league rosters to stay as well.
