Detroit Tigers: Get to know Matt Manning

Detroit Tigers pitching prospect Matt Manning allowed just three hits and racked up nine K’s in seven scoreless innings for Double-A Erie on Sunday.

Another rock solid performance on the mound for Matt Manning this weekend once again reminded everyone why he should not be overshadowed by his new Erie teammate Casey Mize. The 21-year-old is the number two top Detroit Tigers prospect according to MLB.com and has put on quite the show so far in 2019 through his six starts in Erie. With yet another Tigers pitching prospect making headlines on his journey to the majors, let’s get to know Matt Manning.

Before the Detroit Tigers

Though Matt Manning is not related to the famous football-playing Manning family, he does come from an athletic background. Matt’s dad Rich Manning was a 6’11 division one college basketball player and even had a short NBA career. Matt is 6’6 and averaged 26 points per game for his high school basketball team while also being a star on the mound.

After finishing his basketball and baseball careers at Sheldon High School in Sacramento, California, the Detroit Tigers selected Manning with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft. Manning did have a scholarship to play both sports at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles but decided to pursue a major league career with the Tigers right away.

Detroit Tigers Organization

After being drafted in 2016, Manning went 0-2 with a 3.99 ERA in ten starts for the Tigers’ Gulf Coast League team. Manning showed improvement right away the next summer in 2017 posting a 3.18 ERA and a 4-2 record through 14 starts with both the Connecticut Tigers and West Michigan Whitecaps.

2018 would be the year Manning would do some serious moving up in the Tigers farm system. He began the year with West Michigan and had a 3.40 ERA through eleven starts before being moved to Single-A Lakeland. Manning impressed the organization enough with his 2.98 ERA in nine starts with Lakeland to be promoted to Erie to end the year. With Erie to close out 2018, the righty went 0-1 with a 4.22 ERA in two starts.

The Tigers decided to keep Manning with Erie to begin 2019 and he has been on fire through the early part of the season. Through six starts, Manning is 3-1 with a 2.27 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 35.2 IP.

What’s Next

If Manning keeps up with these types of performances, it is very likely he could be in Toledo playing Triple-A ball before the end of the summer. Though he is younger than 22-year-old Casey Mize, Manning has served more time in the Tigers system having skipped playing college baseball, and therefore will probably be moved up to the Mud Hens before Mize.

Matt Manning has tremendous potential and has showcased steady improvement in each step he has taken in the process of trying to make it to the big leagues. With just a bit more maturing left to go in the minor leagues, it should not be wild to think that Tigers fans could see Manning making his MLB debut sometime next year in 2020.