ANAHEIM — If Matt Manning‘s Triple-A numbers this season were of any concern heading into his MLB debut, the rookie showed a glimpse of the highly touted prospect he is within the Tigers organization.
Manning, the Tigers’ No. 3 prospect and the No. 18 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, lit up the radar gun with a fastball that reached 96.6 mph and completed five innings in a 7-5 loss to the Angels at Angel Stadium on Thursday night.
Manning gave up two runs, both of which came across in the second inning, and a total of four hits against the Angels before his exit.
The Sacramento, Calif., native gave up back-to-back two-out RBI singles to Luis Rengifo and David Fletcher in that second frame. He managed to get out of the inning by freezing Justin Upton with a 95 mph fastball to collect his first Major League strikeout.
Manning relied heavily on his fastball, which made up 69% of his 77 pitches and was the putaway pitch for all three of his strikeouts.