Mike Leake Skips Minors, Named Reds' 5th Starter

by larry on Apr 2, 2026 7:52 PM EDT Comment 29 comments

The fifth starter has been determined. It's Mike Leake, although the Reds have not announced anything.

Travis Wood learned first and returned to the clubhouse and started packing his stuff. About five minutes later, Leake walked back from his meeting trying to contain his smile. He and Wood bumped fists.

Leake confirmed he was given the good news.

"It's kind of surreal right now," Leake said. "It has to soak in a little."

Leake, the eighth overall pick last summer, will be the first drafted pitcher to skip the Minor Leagues since Darren Dreifort of the Dodgers in 1994.

Rob Neyer points out that he's the first starting pitcher to do so since Jim Abbott. Leake did throw a few innings in the AFL.

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Read More: Mike Leake (P - CIN), Cincinnati Reds

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Not A Fan

Gonna get beat up this year, I’m afraid.

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by cwhitman412 on Apr 2, 2026 7:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

this makes so little sense in so many ways

baseball rules.

by doublestix on Apr 2, 2026 8:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I actually think he'll be alright

It would have been smarter to wait to delay arbitration and super two status, but he’s probably the best option if you’re strictly looking at it as a baseball decision.

by jar75 on Apr 2, 2026 8:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If Leake is up to stay

and doesn’t spend any time in the minors period, he’ll never be a Super Two so that part doesn’t really matter. Not sure I agree it’s the best option from a baseball perspective either, because if he’s not as ready as you think he is you could actually stunt his development as opposed to accelerate it. I think long term Leake is definitely a better pitcher than Travis Wood, but I don’t the difference would be too much for the next 2 months or so to get Leake’s feet wet in AA and to buy an extra year of team control.

http://bullpenbanter.com

by gatling on Apr 2, 2026 9:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right, but it would use up a pre-arbitration year

Super Two would only come into play if he spent some time in the minors, but not long enough to avoid it. I’d keep him down long enough to avoid super two.

I just don’t see Leake gaining much from minor league seasoning. His ability to pitch is what got him drafted that high (that’s not to say he won’t have his share of struggles). I definitely think he’s the best option right now, but I agree that the drop off from Leake to Wood/Maloney isn’t big enough for me to ignore the financial side.

by jar75 on Apr 2, 2026 10:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right

which is why I said I’d put him in AA for 2 months, you avoid Super Two and get him for 6 years after 2010. I mean we’re probably talking what, a quarter to half a win difference at best over those two months if they had Wood in the 5th spot? I guess for me the fact that Leake is a better long term option than Wood, I’d rather not have Dusty Baker burning up his arm from the start of the year so I’d be taking that part into consideration from a baseball perspective. Add in the financial consideration and I think going with Wood now and Leake in June is the best move for Cincinnati without a doubt.

http://bullpenbanter.com

by gatling on Apr 2, 2026 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't like this either.

Start the fellow in AA first.

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by Frederick0220 on Apr 2, 2026 8:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

5+ ERA

Awful Periphs.

by cwhitman412 on Apr 2, 2026 10:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Doesn't make a lot of sense

I think he’ll have a decent season but the Reds are taking a huge chance for a team that doesn’t really have a legit shot a playoff contention. Send him to AA or AAA and use Maloney as a stopgap and call up Leake in July so his arb/FA isn’t messed up.

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by Gobroks on Apr 3, 2026 3:58 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I wouldn't say

that the Reds don’t have a shot at the playoffs. They have a strong offensive core and lots of pitching talent. I think they’ll be in the thick of the playoff hunt all year, I pick them to take the Wild Card actually. They’re a Chris Carpenter injury away from looking a division championship I think.

That said, it would make more sense to send Leake down and save the year of service time and go with Wood or Maloney in the 5th spot now. I guess the bigger question is what are they doing with Chapman now? He looked like a near lock for the Reds to take along until he hurt his back, if he’s ready quickly what do they do?

http://bullpenbanter.com

by gatling on Apr 3, 2026 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

I definitely think that they’ll make some noise in the NL Central this year. I have them winning, but they may still be a year away.

by jar75 on Apr 3, 2026 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Chapman is ready soon

I doubt it’ll cause much of a problem. You can always find room for good pitching.

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by Kenan and Kel on Apr 3, 2026 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Of course

I should have worded my question a bit differently. They’re starting Leake’s clock now, if Chapman is ready in a couple of months(or less) do you send Leake down then? Do you move him to the pen?

http://bullpenbanter.com

by gatling on Apr 3, 2026 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think Leake is more MLB-ready

I would like to see Chapman spend most of the year in the minors working on consistency and command of his offspeed stuff. If he gets called up in a few months, he’ll probably have to come out of the bullpen.

by jar75 on Apr 3, 2026 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

They have a chance

they seem to be the unanimous sleeper choice. That said it will be tough for any team to catch the Cardinals and the WC looks really deep right now (though it is early in the year)

Adopted Giant: Mike Krukow.
Grab Some Pine, Meat
Kevin Frandsen: Better than any SS on the Giants roster
Hoping for BowkerMania to hit AT&T; Park in 2010

by Gobroks on Apr 3, 2026 11:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Are the Cardinals really that good?

They have a few super stars, but I don’t think they’re a lock to win the Central.

by jar75 on Apr 3, 2026 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think they're a clear favorite

They have a good rotation and a solid lineup. They have the best 1-2 punch in the division both with pitching and hitting. The key is Chris Carpenter not going down with an injury this year, if he gets hurt the division is totally up for grabs.

http://bullpenbanter.com

by gatling on Apr 3, 2026 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the Cardinals are the best team in the NL

They have the tremendous pitching (though I am scared that Carpenter’s arm could blow up) plus one of the best (if not the best) 3/4 combo’s in the line up with Pujols and Holliday. Not to mention Colby Rasmus who is probably a favorite to break out this year, Felipe Lopez who won’t be good as he was last year but should still be a solid presence at the top of the order. Schumaker, Ryan, and Ludwick are solid as well. The X factor for the Cards is Brad Penny, who I think will be good because he is in the NL plus Dave Duncan is a pitching genius.

Adopted Giant: Mike Krukow.
Grab Some Pine, Meat
Kevin Frandsen: Better than any SS on the Giants roster
Hoping for BowkerMania to hit AT&T; Park in 2010

by Gobroks on Apr 4, 2026 3:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

at this point in the year, nobody is a lock

But they’re awfully good. The Pujols/Holliday combination is utterly devastating and few teams are better at figuring out their table-setters than the Cardinals. They’ve even got a few young guys who could step up and provide value in Rasmus and David Freese.

On the pitching side of things, you have two great starters in Carpenter and Wainwright, along with some other interesting arms. It’s a package that SHOULD (but not necessarily will) beat everything else in the NL Central, where even the best of the other teams are relying on a lot of coulds. You know Pujols, Holldaiy, Carp and Wainwright will all be top-notch provided they’re healthy.

by mrkupe on Apr 4, 2026 3:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, Pujols/Holliday/Wainwright are the superstars

I’m not including Carpenter into that mix because his health is a pretty big issue (as gatling noted). Rasmus and Yadier gives them a couple more above average players in the lineup, but after that things fall off pretty quickly. I’m not sold on David Freese yet and the Penny/Lohse/Garcia portion of their rotation is pretty mediocre.

Perhaps that’s enough to easily take the NL Central, but I’m anticipating a much tighter race.

by jar75 on Apr 4, 2026 12:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm shocked

that Dusty Baker would be so irresponsible with a young arm.

We’ve all seen this movie before. It doesn’t end well.

by OldDutchPots on Apr 3, 2026 5:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Dusty Must Feed

by Outshined_One on Apr 3, 2026 12:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not Dusty

you can blame dusty for overusing guys but just because you hate Dusty doesn’t mean everything is his fault. He could suggest that Leake is ready but its up to the GM to make the choice with whats best for the team/player long term. If you wanna kill someone for this move its Jocketty not Dusty.

by GoldenSpikes24 on Apr 3, 2026 2:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not entirely

A manager like Dusty Baker is going to have some influence over what players he starts his year with though, you can’t try and lay all the responsibility off on Jocketty either. They both obviously made this decision, not one or the other.

http://bullpenbanter.com

by gatling on Apr 3, 2026 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Another surprising pitcher to get a spot

Tyson Ross 2008 2nd rd pick who made the A’s bullpen.
He wasoneof leake’s pitching rivals in those cal asu games in college

by MagicMike23 on Apr 3, 2026 10:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What did Dusty Baker do to Walt Jocketty's brain?

by Fanon on Apr 5, 2026 10:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

No. Just no.

I strongly doubt he puts up good numbers.

Hopefully, he gets lit up blatantly enough that he’s back in the minors soon, as opposed to a situation like Trevor Cahill, where he had the shiny ERA but awful peripherals and spent the whole year up in the bigs.

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by Blicks on Apr 5, 2026 11:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I really think people make too big of a deal out of Cahill's season

He wasn’t good last year, but an xFIP of 4.92 as a 21 year old rookie is not terrible.

As for comparing the two, Mike Leake has superior command which leads me to believe he’ll have a much easier transition than Cahill (who I think has the better stuff).

by jar75 on Apr 5, 2026 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Logic fail...

Not by the Reds (well, maybe…) but by the people here. Everyone is talking about the extra year of service time, but they are forgetting one big thing:

If Leake is worth trying to keep for that seventh season in arbitration, then the team will just buy out his last couple arb years and free agent years with a long term deal. This isn’t 1998 anymore where teams use a player for six years then try to re-sign them. Teams are signing 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year players to long term deals that buy out all those years, plus some free agency years. So saving a year on Leake becomes a moot point.

And, if the Reds are an organization that feels that every pitcher only has a certain number of pitches in his arm (i.e. they are going to break down when they break down, no surefire way of protecting them) then why waste some of those pitches in “meaningless” minor league games?

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by Boxkutter on Apr 7, 2025 5:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs