The Detroit Tigers pulled a bit of a repeat performance in the 2016 draft, following their selection of hard-throwing righty Beau Burrows in the first round of 2015 with another young, high-octane arm in the form of Matt Manning with their #9 overall pick this year.

Manning comes from a basketball pedigree – he’s the son of 6’11 former NBA face Rich Manning, and at just 190 pounds, Manning totes the typical under-developed teenage frame that puts some risk in the profile, but at just 18-years-old, he should have no difficulty bulking up.

Pitching wasn’t priority for Manning until his junior year at Sheldon High School (Sacramento, CA). The two-sport athlete was also a star on the Sheldon basketball squad, and planned to play sports at Loyola Marymount prior to signing with the Tigers.

Despite his limited experience on the mound going into the 2016 draft, Manning carries himself with confidence and maturity on the mound. He brings plenty of natural athleticism and coordination for his size, and he moves well off the mound with solid footwork. Manning has a high ¾ arm slot throwing across his body with above-average arm speed and a surprisingly fluid, effortless motion considering his size and limited experience.

Using his height to his advantage, Manning displays consistent downhill plane, staying down in the zone with occasional hard sink to the arm side with his double-plus fastball being his calling card, touching 97 mph regularly. He also brings a 50-grade curveball and 45-grade changeup. While he still lacks confidence in the changeup, I can see it developing to a 55-grade offering based on how well his arm works. Manning’s curveball is the more polished of the two secondaries, with 11-to-5 shape and some snap, flashing potential to be a plus pitch with continued development. While he didn’t use it much in this look, it kept hitters off balance, sitting 76-to-78 mph, and he threw it for strikes.

Here is some video of Manning from my look.

The evolving three-pitch mix, and his ability to use the breaking ball against lefties, shows me that he’s got a plan, and while he’s far from flawless with his command, he’s got the athleticism to give me confidence that it will come with time because the control is there, with just 2.1 walks per nine innings being paired against a dominant 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings in the GCL this season.

With a double-plus fastball and a feel for two developing secondary pitches, Manning has the raw ingredients as a role 50, #4 starter. At 18 years old, I’m already seeing poise in Manning that will serve him well as he encounters more high-leverage situations as he stretches his innings as a starter. Finishing his season in the Tigers’ Instructional League, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him follow a path similar to that of Tigers’ 205 first-rounder Beau Burrows (RHP, Tigers, Class A West Michigan), and start his 2017 season with the Whitecaps.