The Problem Roster Stats Blog ST Report Schedule Roadmap Staff
75
Los Angeles Angels · Starting Pitcher

Alek
Manoah

SP #5 · #75 Age 27 · Throws R · Bats R · 6'6" 260 lbs Best Story of Camp So Far
ST ERA
2026 Spring
ST IP
2026 Spring
ST WHIP
2026 Spring
93–94
mph Feb 22
Up from 89–92
$1.95M
AAV
Best-value SP?
C+
Grade
One Spring
Outing
🌵 2026 Spring Training — Updated Nightly
Apps
GS
IP
ERA
WHIP
K
BB
W-L
Career Statistics
YearTeamWLERAGSIPKBBWHIP
2021TOR923.2220111.2127361.13
2022TOR1672.2431196.2180601.02
2023TOR1233.7619104.092351.14
2024TORDNP
2025TOR/MiLB466.841662.155371.76
2026 STLAA

Five Innings. Zero Runs. The Velocity Is Holding.

In 2022, Alek Manoah won 16 games, posted a 2.24 ERA, finished second in AL Cy Young voting, and looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball. He is 27 years old. The Angels signed him for $1.95M. If there is any version of that pitcher left in that body, this is one of the most important stories in the entire organization.

Through the first two-plus weeks of camp, he has been the best story out of Tempe. Five scoreless innings across multiple outings. Fastball sitting 93-94 mph, holding as the workload builds — that last part matters more than the opening number. Any pitcher can sit 93 once in February. The question is whether it is still 93 in late March when the arm is tired and the hitters are better. So far, it is.

Velocity is real. You can't manufacture 93. His minors work had him at 89–92. Four mph of genuine gain is a result of something the coaching staff and Manoah himself have actually fixed. The sinker is moving. The changeup has been excellent. Mike Maddux, who doesn't compliment things he doesn't mean, has reportedly been pleased with what he's seen.

The risk is zero for the Angels — $1.95M on a one-year deal for a pitcher who hasn't been healthy in two years is a flier, not a commitment. The upside is enormous. The 2022 Manoah is a legitimate number two or three starter on a playoff team. Five spring innings of this is not proof. But it is better evidence than anyone had a right to expect.

He still has to prove it over 25 starts in the regular season. He still has to show the command is real when the lineup has seen him twice and is adjusting. But the working assumption heading into April has shifted — this is no longer a reclamation story, it is a rotation piece. Act accordingly.