Oakland Athletics: Sean Manaea Continues To Struggle
By Joey Lopez
The Oakland Athletics are hoping that Sean Manaea‘s struggles will eventually subside.
The Oakland Athletics know Sean Manaea has been struggling as of late. Manea did not make it out the first inning during his last start on Saturday against Baltimore. In fact, the A’s southpaw has not gone beyond four innings of work since July 27th.
Manaea, since the All-Star break, has gone 1-2 with a 7.52 ERA. Prior to the break, Manaea went 7-5 with a 3.76 ERA. For the A’s, Manaea’s struggles are damaging. Without Sonny Gray leading the rotation, the A’s are leaning on guys like Manaea to anchor the staff.
In just 26.1 innings of work since the break, Manaea has given up six home runs. He gave up eight over 93.1 innings of work in the first-half. Furthermore, opponents are hitting an alarming .358 off of Manaea in the second-half.
The fact that he’s only lost twice since the break is rather surprising, given his poor level of play.
First Impressions Are Everything
Manaea’s struggles have been occurring early in games this year.
Manaea, according to FanGraphs.com, faces trouble when making his way through the order for the first time. He owns a 5.11 ERA this year when going through the order for the first time.
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Overall, Manaea’s early struggles are alarming. The A’s are gearing up for the future and are counting on Manaea to help anchor a rather young starting rotation. Along with Kendall Graveman, Manaea will need to step up and lead the A’s starting staff.
Failing to make it out the first inning, however, does not bode well for Manaea or the A’s. The first-half was mildly successful for Manaea, but inconsistency performances in the second-half have plagued Manaea.
Last year, the A’s were encouraged by Manaea’s strong rookie campaign. Entering this year, though, the A’s were hopeful that Manaea would take the next step.
Command has been an issue this year for Manaea and he will need to execute his pitches more effectively moving forward. Manaea has given up a higher walk-rate this year (8.2%) than last year (6.2%) and has issued 8 walks since the All-Star Break.
In three starts this month, Manaea is 0-2 with a 17.55 ERA over 6 2/3 innings. The A’s are hopeful that Manaea can turn things around quickly. For Manaea’s sake, hopefully he can turn things around.