The Toronto Blue Jays are once again witnessing a breakout campaign for a franchise star. After watching Vladimir Guerrero Jr. become an MVP candidate last season, Alek Manoah is emerging as a bonafide ace.

After placing eighth in Rookie of the Year voting last year, the 6-foot-6, 285-pound righty has emerged as an All-Star and one of the best pitchers in baseball. He has a 2.42 ERA, a WHIP of 0.994 and 158 strikeouts. Although his 23.0 strikeout percentage is not one of the very best in the league (still ranks 24th among qualified starters), Manoah is borderline unhittable.

The percentage of hard-hit balls allowed by Manoah is the lowest among qualified starters. The 24-year-old has a slider that breaks horizontally harder than most pitchers' sliders to go along with a sinker and four-seam fastball. Although his velocity isn't wildly high, his heater has a run value of -18, an elite mark.

Through 171.0 innings this season, Alek Manoah is posting an ERA+ of 161, meaning his ERA is 61 percent better than the league average when adjusted for the different playing environments around the majors. Since 2010, only three players have eclipsed that mark in a season in which they were 24 years old or younger. Clayton Kershaw tied it in his breakout 2011 season, when he won his first Cy Young Award.

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Manoah's company in this stat is wildly impressive. Kershaw is simply one of the best ever, Jose Fernandez was on a superstar trajectory before his tragic death, Mike Soroka has emerged as a legitimate star but has been slowed down by multiple Achilles injuries and Felix Hernandez became one of the very best pitchers of his era.

The Blue Jays retooled their pitching rotation this offseason by replacing Kevin Gausman with Robbie Ray and adding Yusei Kikuchi to go along with Manoah and Jose Berrios. Manoah, the youngest pitcher on the staff by far, has emerged as the top option. He will seemingly be the team's ace for the foreseeable future and it is well-deserved.

As the Blue Jays look to emerge as one of the best teams in baseball behind their young stars, Alek Manoah will be one of the key contributors. The big man's excellence on the mound will only grow and become more well-known as Toronto improves.