Fansided

2015 Trade Deadline: Does Mike Leake’s Value Increase With Giants?

By Mike Marteny

facebooktwitterreddit

The San Francisco Giants really wanted to land Cole Hamels, but they were not willing to give up Tyler Beede or Kyle Crick. Instead the Giants picked up Mike Leake from the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night. They still had to give up a top prospect to get him though. Here is the rundown of the deal:

Keury Mella is rated by mlb.com as the Giants number one prospect. He likely won’t reach the major leagues until 2017, but all the tools are there for him to become a front of the rotation starter. Mella was 5-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 16 starts for high-A San Jose this year, and was a part of the Futures Game during the All Star break.

Adam Duvall, the 25th ranked prospect in San Francisco’s system, is much closer to making a fantasy impact. He was hitting .279 wtih 26 home runs and 80 RBI at AAA Sacramento. Ironically, he hit a home run off of Mike Leake in his first major league at bat last June.

Live Feed

3 MLB teams that could improve World Series odds at trade deadline
3 MLB teams that could improve World Series odds at trade deadline /

Betsided

  • Camilo Doval is electric for the San Francisco Giants and you need this new shirtAround the Foghorn
  • Athletics vs. Giants prediction and odds for Wednesday, July 26Around the Foghorn
  • A's lose 2-1 to Giants as fans unite to keep baseball in OaklandWhite Cleat Beat
  • Athletics vs. Giants prediction and odds for Tuesday, July 25 (Fade Alex Cobb)Betsided
  • A's lose finale against Houston, look forward to Frisco BoycottWhite Cleat Beat

    • Duvall plays either first or third base. The problem with that is that the Reds have Todd Frazier at third base and Joey Votto at first base. He is more blocked in Cincinnati than he was in San Francisco!

    Some will say that this is foreshadowing, but I just don’t see the Reds dealing Votto, and they definitely won’t deal Frazier. The more likely scenario is that Duvall becomes a power bat off of the bench for the Reds, and injury insurance.

    Leake is in the midst of the best season of his career so far. The 27 year old is 9-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 21 starts this year. He has been particularly dominant since the All Star break. He has only allowed two runs in four starts since then!

    More from Fantasy Baseball

    It is hard to imagine Leake’s numbers getting better than they are now. He is not among the fantasy elite due to his low strikeout numbers (90 in 136.2 innings pitched), but he can certainly help your fantasy team down the stretch. Leake is 4-0 with a 2.59 ERA in four starts at AT&T Park in his career. This suggests that his numbers could improve some.

    Leake should be owned in all standard leagues now. He is a solid fourth starter for your fantasy rotation, and could really give your team a boost down the stretch. See if you can get the Leake owner in your league to let him go for a reasonable price. You likely won’t be disappointed.

    Stay tuned to Fantasy CPR for the fantasy impact of all of the deadline deals!

    Next: How Will David Price Fare In Toronto?

    More from FanSided

    Home/Fantasy Baseball