What Went Wrong With Mike Leake?

In 2010, a young, 23-year-old RHP out of Arizona State named Mike Leake, was competing for a starting spot in the Cincinnati Reds rotation.

He was primarily competing against the Cuban Native, Aroldis Chapman. Leake was not expected to win a spot in the rotation during Spring Training, but, he did indeed win it.

During Leake's rookie year, he had great success, especially considering the fact that he had never played a minor league game. He started 22 games, went 8-4, and put up a 4.23 ERA.

The following season, in 2011, Leake started 26 games and put up a 12-9 record, along with a 3.86 ERA. You could see improvement in #44.

However, last season Leake struggled. He did manage to start 30 games, but his record was below .500, he was 8-9 (.471), and his ERA was higher than it had ever been, throughout his whole life (4.58).

This season, as other pitchers like Johnny Cueto, Mat Latos, Jonathon Broxton, and Homer Bailey are enjoying Spring Training, Mike Leake is back to competing for a spot in the rotation. Once again, he is competing against Chapman, primarily.

People have wondered what exactly went wrong with Mike Leake? How did he go from a great #5 pitcher, to a guy who will be lucky to be an ace in AAA?

Well, there are a few reasons, but the main reason is the fact that in 2012 he could not use his splitter effectively.

In 2010, batters hit .272 off of his splitter, .274 in 2011. Those were the two years in which he had success. In 2010, he threw the splitter 1028 times, 682 times in 2011. Last season, he threw it 917 times. Batters hit .338 off the splitter in 2012. The worst of all his pitches.

It went from being very reliable to a very risky pitch to throw.

However, if Leake really focuses on regaining control of his splitter this Spring Training, he should be back to being a very solid starter. But if he is unable to do so, you can expect him to be a Louisville Bat until he is back to being the pitcher he was in 2010 and 2011.

This article may not be reproduced without the permission of CIN Sports.

Reds Predictions

The Cincinnati Reds will begin their 2013 campaign in less than a month. It's not too early to predict season stats and line-ups, is it? Good, I didn't think so.

Choo (CF): .273, 16 HR, 74 RBI, 14 SB
Phillips (2B): .303, 20 HR, 88 RBI, 20 SB
Votto (1B): .327, 32 HR, 124 RBI, 11 SB
Ludwick (LF): .280, 27 HR, 99 RBI, 6 SB
Bruce (RF): .275, 36 HR, 117 RBI, 12 SB
Frazier (3B): .274, 22 HR, 76 RBI, 5 SB
Cozart (SS): .250, 16 HR, 40 RBI, 10 SB
Hanigan (C): .300, 4 HR, 28 HR, 1 SB
Pitcher spot.

Pitching Rotation

Johnny Cueto: 19 Wins, 2.68 ERA
Mat Latos: 15 Wins, 3.40 ERA
Homer Bailey: 17 wins, 3.11 ERA
Bronson Arroyo: 10 Wins, 3.64 ERA
Aroldis Chapman: 12 Wins, 2.35 ERA


This article may not be reproduced without the permission of CIN Sports.

Aroldis Chapman A Starter?

Aroldis Chapman. He is perhaps one of the most talked about players in all of sports.  He is known for his 105 mph fastballs that strike fear into hitter's hearts.

The Reds have plans on making him a starter, rather than a closer.

In 2012, Chapman was one of the best closers in the National League.  In fact, he finished with 38 saves, 3rd beast in the League. If the Reds wanted to seal the win, Chapman was the guy to go to. In 2012, he set a club record for most consecutive innings without giving up an earned run (29 innings).  That streak lasted from Opening Day until June 7th.

Chapman is without any doubt one of the biggest reasons the Reds finished the season tied with the Washington Nationals for the best record in baseball.

Sure, he was dominate in 1 inning, but can he be dominate in 5+?

He has been a starter before, when he was in Cuba, and in the Minor Leagues, he was a starter.  But there is a big difference between Minor League hitters and Major League hitters.

There is an old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".  Aroldis Chapman certainly wasn't broke.  The Reds are trying to fix him.

I'm not physic, so I can't tell you how good or bad Chapman will be as a starter, or even how long he will be a starter. All I can tell you is that Chapman becoming a starter will be one of the bigger stories in Major League Baseball this year.

This article may not be reproduced without the permission of CIN Sports.