Payton Manca (Florida State) has been one of the better arms in the Cape Cod Baseball League to begin the summer. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound left-handed pitcher has made three appearances with two starts, compiling a 1.50 ERA for the Cotuit Kettleers.
While it’s certainly been a successful start to the young campaign, things haven’t always been easy for the Seminole. Manca had a promising high school career but it ended in nightmare fashion, tearing his UCL and requiring the infamous Tommy John surgery.
“I’ve never been through an arm injury, so when it happened, I was like ‘oh, maybe it’s just a little strain,’ so I took a few weeks off. Then I went and got an MRI, and it was partially torn,” Manca said. “I rehabbed until December, but it didn’t work, then I got surgery in February and started the rehab process. I don’t recommend it, it’s not fun at all.”
The surgery cost the big lefty his freshman season at Florida State, where he redshirted to maintain his eligibility.
You can use it as a teaching moment or crumble under pressure when you go through something like that. Manca used it as a teaching experience by watching from the dugout and evaluating what to do and how to approach his position when his time to return to the mound arrived.
After a long year on the sidelines, his time to pitch finally came as Manca made his collegiate debut on March 1 against Georgetown, where he threw a scoreless inning.
“When I got on the bump for the first time at Florida State, it was like a dream goal because they’re my dream school,” he said. “We have a great fan base, so pitching in front of that crowd was like a lifetime experience, and I’m very blessed.”
Manca is from Massachusetts, so many people would question why FSU is his dream school. Well, his dad grew up a Florida State fan, so he naturally inherited it and knew that’s where he wanted to play from a young age.
In his redshirt freshman season with the Noles, Manca posted a 6.56 ERA with 24 strikeouts to 16 walks in 23 1/3 innings.
After the nationally seeded Seminoles were eliminated from the NCAA Super Regionals, the Massachusetts native made his way to Cape Cod. He made his CCBL debut against the Harwich Mariners, where he was solid, tossing two scoreless innings in a 6-0 loss.
His subsequent two appearances were starts, and he was highly efficient for Cotuit. Manca tossed nine innings, surrendering two earned runs and three walks while punching out seven batters.
The most recent start came against the Hyannis Harbor Hawks when Cotuit desperately needed a win to stay in the playoff race, and he delivered five innings of one-run ball in an 11-1 win.
“I got ahead with the fastball and finally had a changeup. When I have the three-pitch combo, it all develops. I’ve got to get ahead, and then I can do everything else with it,” Manca said after his outing Wednesday.
Coming off a significant injury two years ago, Manca is now thriving in the CCBL after posting solid numbers in the ACC, one of the top conferences in college baseball. The Kettleers started the season slowly but have won back-to-back games and look to be figuring things out. The Cotuit left-hander says he wants to stay consistent and help the team win games.
“I want to keep getting consistent innings with them, keep competing on the mound so the guys can do their thing defensively, and hopefully continue to win games. We’re on a winning streak, so hopefully the Ketts can stay hot,” Manca said.
