GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Mike Leake has been a professional baseball player for six years. He's played in just two games in the minor leagues, having made the jump straight from college at Arizona State University to Major League Baseball when he made the Reds rotation out of spring training in 2010.
Leake probably still gets carded.
When it comes to Reds players who could become free agents next year, most conversation and attention starts and stops with Johnny Cueto. Yet Leake is in the same situation. While the baby-faced right-hander doesn't consider himself a veteran -- "There are guys that are older than me here. There are guys that are younger than me here. I guess I'm in between," he says -- the Reds are counting on him to pitch like one. Leake is no longer at the back end of the rotation. He's slated to start Game 2 of the season against Pittsburgh next week.
It's a position the Reds are confident Leake cannot just handle but be prosperous.
"He's a very talented guy and I never feel any more that we're behind the eight-ball when he starts regardless of who the opposing starter is," said manager Bryan Price. "That's something that's evolved with his maturity."
Price was the Reds pitching coach in 2010 when Leake was in his first spring training. Leake was the club's first-round draft pick the previous June, being selected No. 8 overall after a junior season at ASU where he went 16-1 with seven complete games and two shutouts while compiling a 1.71 ERA. The Reds had Leake play in the Arizona Fall League but that was his only introduction to pro ball before his first spring camp. Baseball America had him rated as the organization's third-best prospect that year, behind current third baseman Todd Frazier and Yonder Alonso.
He became the 21st player since MLB instituted its draft in 1965 to jump directly from college to the majors and ended up starting 22 games that season, going 8-4 with a 4.23 ERA in 138 1/3 innings as the Reds won the NL Central division title and reached the postseason for the first time in 15 years. He was in the starting rotation to begin the 2011 season but was moved to the bullpen after Cueto and Homer Bailey returned from stints on the disabled list after the first month of the season. He was sent to Triple-A Louisville in the middle of May 2011 but was recalled before the month was out and has been in the rotation ever since.
He's increased his workload each year, including a career-high 214 1/3 innings last season when he had a career-best 3.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Leake was often compared to Bronson Arroyo when he first joined the Reds. Leake's hair was longer then and he's never going to be as tall as Arroyo but the two shared an ability to get batters out without having to overpower them. Leake absorbed and learned the art of pitching by talking with and watching Arroyo and Aaron Harang.
Even after those two veterans were no longer teammates, Leake kept implementing aspects of the game he learned from them as well as finding other ways to improve his performance.
"I think it's maturing and learning the game," said Leake. "Every year learning each hitter more and more. That's probably what it is more than improving. It's evolving."
Leake closed out his spring training Thursday with six innings against Cleveland. He gave up two runs on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout before departing. He finished this spring allowing three runs in 20 innings. Leake has spent much of this camp working to better his changeup, a pitch he hopes to utilize more effectively this season in complement with a cut fastball and sinker he uses.
It's evolution.
"He pitches quite a bit off of his sinker/cutter combination, which are both excellent pitches for him but also similar in velocity. They're going to be in the neighborhood of 87-to-93 miles an hour," said Price. "The changeup gives him an opportunity, a pitch that is very similar in shape and rotation out of his hand but with a separator probably eight-to-10 miles an hour and that is a big pitch, especially for a starting pitcher."
That's part of Leake's makeup Price noticed in that first camp five years ago.
"He was already a very dedicated professional. I think what he's done is evolve into a very effective and polished major-league pitcher," said Price. "He understands what he needs to do to be successful. He's been able to incorporate different things into his game preparation, whether it's video or if it's our advanced reports, improving pitcher-catcher relationship. He's done a really good job of attacking his areas of weakness."
Leake has already started 142 games in his career. Through last season, he and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum were the only active MLB pitchers to have started 100 or more games within five years of being drafted. He needs 108 1/3 innings this season to surpass 1,000 for his career. He's made at least 30 starts each of the last three seasons.
That kind of durability is another trait he shares with Arroyo.
"I think that will be a part of who he is for the next several years," said Price. "He'll be an innings eater and a guy who every time he takes the ball will expect to win the game."
The Reds ended last season knowing they had four starters who would be entering their final contract years in 2015. They traded Mat Latos to Miami and Alfredo Simon to Detroit in return for prospects to help alleviate some of that future concern. Cueto and Leake's futures with the team remain to be see. Reds general manager Walt Jocketty did not have any comment this week when asked by FoxSportsOhio.com about a possible extension for Leake.
Leake isn't worried about his contract status. He's thought about it, certainly, but it isn't controlling his thoughts. That would get in the way him getting ready for the season.
"As far as an extension with the Reds it's kind of a wait-and-see with what they want to do," said Leake. "I'll just sit back and if they want to approach me they want to approach me. If not, they don't. As far as the future, you've just got to finish the year and hopefully it's a full year with the Reds and not a half year."
National prognostications aren't high on the Reds. Finishing 10 games under .500 one season and making few highlight moves in the following offseason will produce little fanfare. There's a quiet confidence in the Reds clubhouse, though. It's similar to Leake. He's not outspoken, he's not fiery and he can easily be overlooked but then you notice he's given you seven strong innings and put his team in position to win.
It's evolution.
"If you look at everyone in here we've got a bunch of talented guys and we need to find a way to put it together," said Leake. "We've had the same guys for the last five years basically. I guess it's just finding a way to mesh and get back into the playoffs."
