Blue Jays ace Manoah in AL Cy Young Award mix after flashing 2.24 ERA

Justin Verlander of the World Series champion Houston Astros is a heavy favourite to win his third Cy Young Award after the 39-year-old ace went 18-4 with a major league-low 1.75 earned-run average this season in a marvelous comeback from Tommy John surgery.

Alek Manoah of the Toronto Blue Jays and fellow right-hander Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox are the other American League Cy Young finalists.

Manoah, who emerged as ace of the Blue Jays' starting rotation, is the ninth and youngest pitcher in franchise history to be named a finalist.

The 24-year-old from Homestead, Fla., led Toronto with 16 victories this past season and his 2.24 ERA ranked fourth in the major leagues. Manoah's 0.88 mark in September was the lowest in a single month for any pitcher in team history.

In 31 starts, he struck out 180 over 196 2/3 innings, 85 more than last season when he made debuted in the majors.

The 2022 all-star made his playoff debut last month, pitching Game 1 of a wild-card series against Seattle at a raucous Rogers Centre for the first Blue Jays home playoff game since 2016.

He appeared to battle some jitters in the Oct. 7 outing and allowed four earned runs, matching a season high, in a 4-0 loss.

This is the third consecutive year a Toronto pitcher has been nominated for the AL Cy Young, with Hyun Jin Ryu a 2020 finalist and Robbie Ray winning the award last year.

Rob Thomson of Corunna, Ont., didn't make the cut in the running for National League top manager honours despite guiding the Philadelphia Phillies to their first playoff berth in 11 years.

WATCH | Thomson shines with Phils, impressing many in Ontario hometown:

Philadelphia had a 22-29 record when Joe Girardi was fired in early June. Thomson was promoted from