Redleg Nation would like to congratulate our Player of the Month for the first month of the 2010 season: Mike Leake.
What a way to start your big league career! Young Mr. Leake earned a spot in the Reds Opening Day rotation after being drafted last season and spending not one single day in the minor leagues. A foolish decision by the Reds? To the contrary, it appears to have been a great decision.
Leake started four games in April, compiling a 2-0 record with a 3.25 ERA and a very-impressive 135 ERA+. Perhaps more importantly, Leake was the only member of that rotation that performed well during the month, and he really held that rotation together when the team needed him most. That’s the very definition of valuable, it seems to me.
Congratulations, Mike Leake! I hope this is the first of many awards you receive as a Cincinnati Red.
Also receiving votes:
–Joey Votto: .286/.408/.500, 4 HR, 13 RBI, OPS+ 139
–Arthur Rhodes: 1-1, 10 G, 9 1/3 IP, 0 BB, 11 K, .96 ERA, 467 ERA+, .429 WHIP