Leake was never going to Minors per Dusty

[NeilHamburger]

From Reds.com writer Mark Sheldon:

The sort-of a stunner to come out of postgame was from Baker, regarding Leake. After all the speculation in Spring Training about whether Leake would go to Triple-A Louisville if he didn’t make the rotation before the Cueto/Bailey injuries, Baker and the club had other ideas.

“The main thing is we know he can pitch,” Baker said. “He might have been trying too hard. He wasn’t going back to the Minors even though he might have been a little afraid that he might. We couldn’t tell him that. He was going to be on the team.”

Very interesting. I guess he was going to be the long man out of the pen. Not sure I agree with that for a young prospect. He should be going every 5th day. Part of me wonders if those injuries didn't change a potential trade?

[R_Webb18]

every1 goes back and fourth on who should be 1,2,3,4,5 and im not sure if there is an answer. yes are 1 did bad and rest did good but its to early to tell. i like baily but every yr hes hurt at some point.

[Sean_CaseyRules]

I believe Dusty. I don't think he was going to be in the rotation, but I don't think he was going to the Minors.

[Vottomatic]

That would have made zero sense to keep him up here. If he wasn't going to be part of the 5 man rotation, he would have been better served in Louisville getting his starts, and being ready for when we needed him to start. Messing him up in the bullpen is just plain stupid.

I'm not crazy about Maloney in the bullpen. I'd rather see him in Louisville starting.

[Girevik]

If everyone continutes to pitch well, it will be real interesting to see what happens once everyone is healthy. At least it will be a good problem to have.

[lidspinner]

I heard Jeff Shaw once say in a interview that you learn to pitch when your young....you learn the game when your young...you learn to play Baseball by watching professionals play baseball......

if you look hard into that quote, he is saying that Mike Leake maybe knows all he is going to know about pitching...now, maybe him being the long man and actually watching the game of baseball being played day in and day out by major leaguers, might he learn something? I am not sure....I am sure I am looking to far into it, but if Jeff Shaw was right, then maybe Leake would benefit more from being on the club and learning the ropes that way.

Shaw stated on more than 1 occasion that he never changed his game from day 1 to his last day on the mound....but just watching the Cowboy taught him everything he needed to know about the game of baseball being a closer.....good food for thought, especially if the Reds really think that Leake can pitch, would he really learn much in the minors that he cant learn up here?

[Pony Boy]

I think that it would only hurt Leake to pitch in the minors at this point. He doesnt have anything else to learn as far as pitching goes. If he went to the minors and didnt pitch well it could effect his confidence, if he went to the minors and dominated he might get overconfident and sloppy. He is a major leaguer, he belongs in the majors.

Once Bailey and Cueto are healthy we are going to have 8 capable MLB starters and only 5 spots. If I was a team that was looking for another rotation arm I would try to get Homer Bailey for a bargain price.

[SidneySlicker]

I love the thought of having two long relievers in the pen in Leake and Lecure. I hope to not having to use them in that fashion on a consistent basis, but I love have two guys capable of doing so if need be. We know who 7,8, and 9 are gonna be.

I think Leake will end up back in the rotation at some point one way or another, but think about how valuable a guy like Scott Sullivan was as an innings eater and guy who could keep you within striking distance when the starter didn't have his stuff.

[Grouse]

I love this organization, but I don't believe a word they say about injuries or call-ups/send downs. What do you want to bet that cueto or Bailey are hurt worse than they let on. It wouldn't suprise me if they were out till after the all-star break, or longer. I think dusty is just saying this stuff because he knows these guys are hurt worse then the reds are letting on, and he wants to boost Leake up. We have seen "sore" pitcher parts turn into major problems again and again. It would not shock me anyway. I hope I'm wrong.

[Krawhitham]

He was going to the pen, I never believed others wise. Injuries happen all the time, if they had sent Leake down it would used one of his option years. You keep him as the long man and let him step in when someone gets hurt

[Kingspoint]

From Reds.com writer Mark Sheldon:

The sort-of a stunner to come out of postgame was from Baker, regarding Leake. After all the speculation in Spring Training about whether Leake would go to Triple-A Louisville if he didn’t make the rotation before the Cueto/Bailey injuries, Baker and the club had other ideas.

“The main thing is we know he can pitch,” Baker said. “He might have been trying too hard. He wasn’t going back to the Minors even though he might have been a little afraid that he might. We couldn’t tell him that. He was going to be on the team.”

Very interesting. I guess he was going to be the long man out of the pen. Not sure I agree with that for a young prospect. He should be going every 5th day. Part of me wonders if those injuries didn't change a potential trade?

Couldn't agree more.

But, then it's pretty easy to speculate that one would know that he'll probably get 15+ starts anyway, even as the #6 or #7 pitcher on the staff because injuries just have a habit of always appearing on a staff.

It wouldn't have been stretching one's neck out to say that one or two of the 5 pitchers ahead of him would not be ready to start the season.

[Kingspoint]

I think that it would only hurt Leake to pitch in the minors at this point.

He's got everything and more to learn as a pitcher. He knows very little when it comes to pitching as a Veteran in the Major Leagues.

When he starts posting season ERA's under 3.00, then I'll go with the statement that he doesn't have anything to learn anymore, but even then, that's not the truth.

The person that thinks he has nothing to learn is the person that knows nothing.

[Kingspoint]

If he went to the minors and didnt pitch well it could effect his confidence, if he went to the minors and dominated he might get overconfident and sloppy.

If he went to the Minors and didn't pitch well, it would just be more proof that he has more to learn.

[davrix]

I don't get keeping him in the pen either. To me it makes more sense to keep him in the pattern of starting.

More importantly, this also will keep him from becoming arbitration eligible too quickly. He will be earning time towards FA, sitting in the pen.

[bshall2105]

I think he would have gone down and Dusty is just trying to keep Leake confident. He would have been the long man and getting about 3 innings a week. Leake needs to be adding to his innings total, not lowering it.