Matt Manning Makes His Major League Debut Tonight And That's Pretty Awesome
Tigers fans have had a rough go of things over the last few years, haven’t we? We’ve seen a lot of tanking and a lot of losing. Through it all, Matt Manning has been a part of the organization. Originally drafted on June 9th of 2016 (which was ironically my 21st birthday) the tall, hard throwing righty will be making his major league debut tonight against some guy named Shohei Ohtani. Should be an easy win, right?
Matt Manning has probably the highest ceiling of any pitcher in the Tigers organization, and that’s saying something considering the fact that they boast two other former top 50 pitching prospects, including a number 1 overall pick in Casey Mize, who is looking like a Rookie Of The Year candidate in 2021. Manning’s build, velocity and mechanics remind some people of another pretty good right hander who pitched for the Tigers for a while.
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Do I exactly agree with these sentiments? No. Well, at least not yet (Thank you to the great Emily Waldon for posting that GIF last night).
Manning got off to an abysmal start in AAA Toledo this year for the Mud Hens, posting an 8.07 ERA over 7 starts. The numbers are inflated thanks to a home run problem but he was much better in his last outing. His call up was made out of necessity because the Tigers pitching staff has been absolutely decimated with injuries. He’s been a project from the beginning and will continue to be. My biggest concern is the “Thrower not pitcher” syndrome that a lot of young pitchers seem to have. His stuff is absolutely explosive, with a fastball that can hit triple digits and a wipeout curve ball. I worry about the development of his other pitches. It’s been several years and it seems like we’re still waiting for that changeup and slider to come along. More often than not, if you got heat down in the minors, you can get guys out. That won’t be the case at the Major League level. Unlike previous years though, I’m comfortable with who will be helping Matt Manning grow in the major leagues. Chris Fetter is a pitching god. The job he did at Michigan was exemplary and the improvements made by guys like Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize, Michael Fulmer, and Gregory Soto make me believe that this guy knows what he’s doing. Never heard a bad word about the guy as a pitching coach and he just happens to have arguably the best drip of any coach in baseball.
This Detroit Tigers rebuild, which feels like it’s been going on since the Clinton administration, has been built around starting pitching. The pitching is the future, and the future is here. Welcome to the bigs Matt Manning. I look forward to watching your major league debut live on YouTube, which is apparently a thing now.