Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah has been one of MLB’s best pitchers in the first half of the 2022 season.

The 24-year-old has an 8-1 record with a 1.67 earned-run average and 68 strikeouts this season. His eight wins is tied for first in the MLB and his ERA is good for second.

Manoah’s dominance has been noticed across the MLB landscape, with his name mentioned among possible Cy Young candidates.

“Manoah has been unbelievable,” ESPN’s Buster Olney told TSN1050 on Tuesday. “[I was] looking at some of the statistics for potential Cy Young award winners and it might turn out that his best competition is [teammate] Kevin Gausman.

 “We could be going down the stretch this year with two Blue Jays competing for that award.”

Gausman, 31, was signed as a free agent from the San Francisco Giants in the off-season. He has a 5-5 record with a 2.67 ERA this season.

The signing of Gausman, an all-star in 2021, and the emergence of Manoah has insured the pitching staff hasn’t missed a beat after losing 2021 American League Cy Young winner Robbie Ray and pitcher Steven Matz to free agency in the off-season.

However, questions remain about the status of pitcher Hyun Jin Ryu. The 35-year-old lefty was placed on the 15-day injured list for the second time this season on June 2 and there are no guarantees he can come back at a high level (EDITOR'S NOTE: Ryu was declared out for the season later on Tuesday by the Blue Jays, scheduled to have elbow surgery).

“I’m sure they would love for [Ryu] to come back and be what he was with the Dodgers, being a high-level guy,” said Olney. “But I just don’t think they have the information to allow them to count on that.”

Onley pointed out that if the Blue Jays are looking for starting pitching help, they are more likely to target a player with term rather than a rental due to their proximity to a playoff position. While he’s not sure who that player could be, Olney suggested that the Miami Marlins could be a good trade partner.

“The Marlins have an unbelievable stable of talent,” said Olney. “If they wind up being a team that looks to flip some of their pitching assets for position player assets, they could potentially be a good match.”

On the other side of the ball, Onley believes the Blue Jays calling up prospect catcher Gabriel Moreno could have a major impact.

“We talked about Manoah having confidence, I think that [same] confidence is within Moreno as well,” said Olney. “The internal conversation for the Blue Jays needs to be how you are going to deploy that guy in your lineup, how often you use him and get him settled in.

“You’re just giving him a taste and you’re hoping there’s enough time during the year that he’s going to grow as the season goes along.”