The battle is on between Travis Wood and Mike Leake for the final spot in the Cincinnati Reds' rotation, and the team's choices really couldn't be any more different.
Wood was a second round pick out of high school back in 2005, forever ago in the prospect world. He has made a steady climb to the brink of the major leagues, having spent almost a full year at every stop from Billings to Louisville. But despite his deliberate path through the minor leagues, Wood just turned 23 before spring training and has had the luxury of building up his arm the old-fashioned way - by pitching. With over 500 minor league innings logged, and a career high of 167 2/3 IP thrown in 2009, Wood, at the very least, is capable of pitching an entire major league season, something which is rare among prospects.
Leake, on the other hand, is the team's most recent first-round pick, having been selected 8th overall this past year. Despite having yet to throw a regular season pitch as a professional, Leake entered camp with a reputation as an advanced pitcher, and someone who could help the team soon. What the Reds did not anticipate was that it could be this soon. While Leake's pure stuff is not overpowering, his feel for pitching and vast array of pitches (he works with as many as 5 and throws them all for strikes) have impressed the Reds and cemented his reputation as being ready when needed.
The Reds appear to have not yet made up their mind, and unlike teams who are selecting the"best of the worst" at a lot of positions at this point in the spring, the Reds have two players, neither of whom are giving their team any reason to send them down. Both started on Wednesday against different opponents, and while Wood fared well against the Dodgers and, according to Gary Schatz of MLB.com, put himself in position to grab the job, Leake responded with six strong innings of his own against the A's and stated his own case, say John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer and Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. And despite his successful return to the mound in relief of Leake, Aroldis Chapman showed that he is both super-talented and no where near ready to actually compete for this same job.
The Reds have a nice problem on their hands this spring, but the solution seems extremely simple. Unless Leake gives their team a significantly better chance at winning ballgames and they think they are going to compete this season, the choice has to be Wood. Who will be the better pitcher in the long run? Irrelevant. What is relevant is that Wood is the only one of the two who is prepared for the grind of a professional season, used to pitching on 4 days rest (instead of once a week as they do in college), and capable of throwing 175-190 innings without possible arm damage or team-imposed innings restrictions. Leake may have thrown 142 innings last year in college, but the effect of an 8 inning start once a week is quite different on the arm than 6 innings every 5 days.
Start with Wood and see how he fares. The team will need another starter at some point in the season, regardless of whether it's as a replacement for Wood or another rotation member. Let Leake acclimate himself to professional life and professional pitching. His transition won't take nearly as long as Chapman's will (we're talking a month versus a year), and Leake should be ready by Memorial Day, whether they need him or not.
