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.
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