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Matt Manning, P
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Scouting report
A large part of the reason Manning ranked first on last year's Tigers list was because he had neither Casey Mize's injury red flags nor Tarik Skubal's relief risk. Then in late August, he was shut down with a forearm strain, the first real blemish on what had been an immaculate track record of arm health (his 2018 IL stint was due to an oblique injury). Manning has publicly downplayed the severity of that injury and has been healthy and throwing all offseason without issue. We'd rather he have been totally healthy, but this injury doesn't seem severe enough to alter his stock. All of the physical components that many front-end arms have while they're in high school were present when Manning was an amateur -- shooting guard frame, premium arm strength and athleticism, a breaking ball -- and remain so today. He has pretty good feel for location and balance for a young 6-foot-6 guy who takes such a gargantuan stride off the mound, and that should continue improving with time and reps. Manning starts on the extreme first base side of the rubber and has a cross-bodied, drop-and-drive style delivery that creates flat angle on his fastball, which gets on hitters quickly. And Manning goes right at hitters with that fastball (60% in-zone rate in 2019), which has the cut/carry traits typical of a power pitcher's fastball. His arm slot is much different now than it was in high school, a testament to Detroit's dev group and Manning's ability to make adjustments without a drop off in on-field performance. Since entering pro ball, his walks have come down, Manning's changeup has gotten better, and he started working with two different fastballs and was clearly manipulating the shape of his spike curveball depending on the hitter and situation in 2019. Now he's working on a second breaking ball. Assuming the forearm issues are behind him, Manning has front-end starter ceiling and will likely make his big league debut in 2021. (Alternate site)