| IP | 137 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 3.48 |
| WHIP | 1.17 |
| BB/9 | 3.42 |
| SO/9 | 9.07 |
- Full name Sean Anthony Manaea
- Born 02/01/1992 in Valparaiso, IN
- Profile Ht.: 6'5" / Wt.: 245 / Bats: R / Throws: L
- School Indiana State
- Debut 04/29/2016
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Drafted in the CB-A round (34th overall) by the Kansas City Royals in 2013 (signed for $3,550,000).
View Draft Report
Manaea broke out in the Cape Cod League last summer as its pitcher of the year and top prospect. He struck out a league-high 85 batters in 52 innings while holding opponents to a .119 average, thanks to an explosive mid-90s fastball that never seemed to find the barrel of a bat. His first pitch this spring was 96 mph, but he has mostly pitched at 88-93 mph and not held his velocity deep into games. He rolled his right ankle celebrating a dramatic win over Minnesota ace Tom Windle on March 15, an injury that led to hip problems. To his credit, Manaea has tried to pitch through it, but in his first start in May, he topped out at 91 on a rainy day against Evansville and worked at 84-87 mph in the fourth inning before the game was called. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder has to rely on his fastball, which features plenty of life and deception when he's right, to help his secondary pitches play up. He'll flash a quality slider and uses a split/changeup as his offspeed pitch, but neither gives him a consistently above-average No. 2 pitch. His command and control, which were sharp last summer despite his low three-quarters arm angle, also have regressed. Manaea continues to post quality numbers (1.61 ERA, 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings, .192 opponent average), but he has been far from the guy who overmatched the Cape. Teams are trying to figure out whether last summer's version or this spring's is the true Manaea. As one scouting director said, "He'll be the most-scouted player in the draft over the last month." There's still time for him to work his way as high as No. 3 to the Rockies, but teams that never thought they'd have a shot at Manaea are making sure they do their due diligence.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Manaea played an important role in the Royals' 2015 World Series title. Granted, that role was as the key piece Kansas City traded to the Athletics at the trade deadline for playoff hero Ben Zobrist. For his part, Manaea bounced back from an abdominal strain that had kept him out of the first half of the year and pitched well at Double-A Midland, including a dominant 13-strikeout performance in his last regular-season outing and then a pair of quality starts in the Texas League playoffs. Manaea always has missed bats, having put himself on the map when he led the Cape Cod League in strikeouts in the summer of 2012. A big, power lefthander, his fastball sits at 92-93 mph, but he can reach back for as much as 98. He also can vary the velocity on his slurvy slider, which looks like a plus pitch at times but needs more consistency. He worked hard to improve his changeup both before and after the trade. The A's kept experimenting with his changeup grips, and he threw some nice sinking changes in the Arizona Fall League. Manaea's delivery is fairly clean, but the A's worked to give him a better rhythm to his motion and a more consistent finish. Scouts worried about his command during the season, but he showed improvement in the fall. Manaea has a frontline arm but needs to get through a season healthy. Injuries might be the biggest knock on him, dating back to when he needed hip surgery coming out of college. He nevertheless finished last season strong, leading the AFL in strikeouts with 33 in 26 innings. He'll go back to Midland or Triple-A Nashville to open 2016, but a big league look might not be far off. -
The Royals signed 2013 first-round pick Hunter Dozier to a below-slot deal in order to free up money to sign Manaea for $3.55 million in the sandwich round. The potential top-five pick suffered a torn labrum in his hip, but after turning pro and having surgery, Manaea showed no ill effects in 2014. Early in the season, Manaea would lean back early in his delivery, which caused him to open up too soon and spin off the mound. That left his fastball up in the zone and made his slider too sweepy. After getting more upright and direct in his finish, Manaea posted a 1.45 ERA in his final 10 starts at high Class A Wilmington. He gets excellent extension and downhill plane on his plus 90-95 mph fastball that has a touch of late life. Manaea's slider became an above-average pitch late in 2014 as it became tighter with more tilt. His changeup is a potentially average pitch with late fade. The long-limbed Manaea never has had pinpoint control and may struggle to achieve more than average grades on that front. He's too easy to run on (24 steals in 29 attempts), but he lowered his leg kick from the stretch to speed up from a glacial 1.7 to a still-slow 1.4 seconds to the plate. Manaea made big strides in his first pro season, but he still has to demonstrate he can be more precise with his pitches. He heads to Double-A Northwest Arkansas with the raw ingredients to be a future No. 3 starter. -
The Royals pulled off the surprise of the 2013 draft when they selected Hunter Dozier, a late-first-round talent, with the eighth overall pick. Their intentions became clear later when they selected Manaea with the 34th pick. He had projected as a potential top-five choice before an injury ruined his junior season at Indiana State. The Royals were confident that the torn labrum in Manaea's hip would not be a long-term problem--it's an injury Jason Vargas and Brett Myers returned from with no issues--so they were willing to spend $3.55 million, using the bonus-pool surplus they built by drafting Dozier. As a junior Manaea went 5-4, 1.47 while ranking fourth in NCAA Division I in strikeouts per nine innings (11.4). In the Cape Cod League in 2012, he threw his fastball at 94-96 mph with an above-average slider, but he was effective as Sycamores ace at 88-92, still managing to deceive hitters because of his fastball's deception and late life. Manaea throws from a low-three quarters arm slot that makes it hard for lefties to pick him up. His changeup is his No. 3 pitch, but it shows potential to be average. His control was above-average. Manaea got on the mound at the end of instructional league and should be ready for spring training. He probably will begin 2014 at high Class A Wilmington.
Draft Prospects
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Manaea broke out in the Cape Cod League last summer as its pitcher of the year and top prospect. He struck out a league-high 85 batters in 52 innings while holding opponents to a .119 average, thanks to an explosive mid-90s fastball that never seemed to find the barrel of a bat. His first pitch this spring was 96 mph, but he has mostly pitched at 88-93 mph and not held his velocity deep into games. He rolled his right ankle celebrating a dramatic win over Minnesota ace Tom Windle on March 15, an injury that led to hip problems. To his credit, Manaea has tried to pitch through it, but in his first start in May, he topped out at 91 on a rainy day against Evansville and worked at 84-87 mph in the fourth inning before the game was called. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder has to rely on his fastball, which features plenty of life and deception when he's right, to help his secondary pitches play up. He'll flash a quality slider and uses a split/changeup as his offspeed pitch, but neither gives him a consistently above-average No. 2 pitch. His command and control, which were sharp last summer despite his low three-quarters arm angle, also have regressed. Manaea continues to post quality numbers (1.61 ERA, 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings, .192 opponent average), but he has been far from the guy who overmatched the Cape. Teams are trying to figure out whether last summer's version or this spring's is the true Manaea. As one scouting director said, "He'll be the most-scouted player in the draft over the last month." There's still time for him to work his way as high as No. 3 to the Rockies, but teams that never thought they'd have a shot at Manaea are making sure they do their due diligence.
Minor League Top Prospects
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Hip labrum surgery pushed Manaea into the supplemental first round in 2013, but he got big money from the Royals and appears to be justifying the risk, now for the Athletics. Traded to Oakland for Ben Zobrist in July, the sturdy-bodied lefthander pitched exceptionally well at Midland, going 6-1, 2.36 and striking out 62 in 50 innings. From a three-quarters arm slot, Manaea fires a fastball at 90-95 mph with downhill plane and late life. He can bore his fastball in on hitters, while his slider flashes plus and his changeup has shown average potential, with fading action at its best. Manaea's athleticism, never a strong suit, has been further limited by his surgery. He has below-average command and that is exacerbated when he attempts to alter his slot to add deception. Batters have trouble squaring up Manaea, who has allowed just 10 homers in 196 pro innings. His pickoff move is an additional weapon. -
A supplemental first-round pick with top-of-the-draft talent, Manaea signed for $3.55 million as the Royals' second selection in 2013. Kansas City selected third baseman Hunter Dozier with its first pick. Once Manaea found consistency in his delivery, he became one of the most dominant pitchers in the CL and wound up winning the strikeout crown. He pitched especially well down the stretch, going 3-1, 1.37 with 44 strikeouts and eight walks in 39 innings in August. He closed his season with a season-high 12 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings against Potomac. Manaea's big finish offset a first half in which he fell out of his delivery and couldn't find the plate. Plus, his velocity often dropped off the second time through the order, but at his best he delivers mid-90s heat, a plus slider and a workable changeup. Hitters struggled to square him up even when his control faltered.
