Nice profile on the young pitcher
Going straight to the majors was one of his goals from the moment he signed with the Reds last summer after receiving a $2.27 million signing bonus.
“Every time he talked to me, it was like I’d better not be in the minor leagues because I don’t have anything to prove,” said Leake’s brother, Ryan, the pitching coach at Cal-San Diego. “I know I can get big-league hitters out. It was the way he said it that convinced me. He’s not a BS guy, not a big ego guy or talking-trash kind of guy. If he says it, he means it.”
Ryan’s concern, and Mike’s, was whether the Reds would take the risk. But Mike pitched so well in spring training with a 3.00 ERA in 18 innings that the Reds picked him over Travis Wood for the fifth spot in the rotation.
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