His postseason consisted of 4.1 innings, so holding that as an argument against him being effective is a little shortsighted imo. That could just as easily be variance as it is poor performance.
Furthermore, While ZIPS does have him at 4.59 for a projected 2013 ERA, that is the only projection system that has him above even 4.20. Using ZIPS while ignoring the other projections feels like cherry picking to me.
Oddly, ZIPS has him down for the highest WAR of any projection system, and pegs him for the highest K rate of the bunch. All projections other than Steamer have Leake as a full-time, ~170 IP starter.Code:PROJECTION ERA FIP Steamer 3.96 3.83 James 4.15 4.38 Oliver 3.84 4.03 ZIPS 4.59 4.42
I guess I agree that Leake isn't a guy who is a lock-down ace, but I disagree that he is "replace me immediately" level bad as a starting pitcher. I saw plenty of those in years past, and see plenty of them on other teams' rosters. Leake doesn't fit that bill even remotely.