Archive for June, 2009
Reds 1st round pick Mike Leake was spotted a 6 run lead going into the 4th inning against Texas in the College Baseball World Series today, but that wasn’t enough as he was removed from the game after giving up 6 runs in that half inning. The Arizona State righty said he was surprised he was picked so early because he’s only 5′10″. There are no right-handed pitchers at that height or shorter who have had successful careers in the past 20 years. Even Pedro Martinez is 5′11″.
The Reds have are back to playing National League teams tomorrow as they start a series against the Atlanta Braves. The Reds sit at .500 and the Braves seem on the verge of getting on a hot streak as we prepare to start the brutal summer months.
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The Reds used their 1st round pick to select Mike Leake, a right handed pitcher out of Arizona State. Leake is relatively small but possesses good stuff and has great command of his pitches. He’s a guy who’s used to winning and always expects to come out on top, which is one of those intangibles that you just can’t see on a scouting video. Leake really helped his draft position by ripping apart the PAC 10 this year.
The Reds lost to the Brewers on Sunday, but I think they deserve more than a simple tongue lashing from their manager and the press. Their hitters looked downright terrible against Yovani Gallardo. I realize Gallardo is probably going to be an NL Cy Young candidate in the years to come, but is that any reason for the Reds to have 8 strikeouts against him in the first 3 innings? He’s good, but he shouldn’t be that good. The strikeouts really hurt in the second inning when Gallardo worked out of a bases loaded, one-out jam by whiffing Ryan Hanigan and Micah Owings.
