The CBB continues our countdown to the 2009 College Baseball season with our Top 50 players to watch. We will be providing one player each day (Monday-Saturday) until we reach number 1.
We continue our list with junior pitcher/utility player Mike Leake of Arizona State. The Fallbrook, California native jumped into the national spotlight during his days at Fallbrook High School where he led the team to three league championships in his four years. He was one of the most decorated players in the San Diego area. He hit .431 with 10 homers and 31 RBI with a 9-3 record and an ERA of 1.87 as a junior. During his senior season, he finished the season with a .342 average with eight homers while going 11-1 with a 1.87 on the mound. He ended up picking up the Avocado League Cy Young award in two seasons while being named the number 11 prospect in the west by TeamOneBaseball.com.
Mike Leake jumped right into the fire at Arizona State in 2007 by focusing on pitching in his freshman campaign which was a great decision which saw him go 13-2 including a save with a 3.69 ERA. He started the season expected to be the closer for the Sun Devils but ended up being the Friday night starter. He was named the Most Outstanding Pitcher in the 2007 Tempe Regional. He also picked up honors as he was named as a First Team All-Pac 10 selection, Third Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, and First Team All-Freshmen team by Collegiate Baseball and Rivals.com.
Mike Leake’s sophomore campaign was just as good as he focused on pitching early in the season exclusively but started playing everyday in the field about midway through the season. His record was 11-3 with an ERA of 3.49. He ended up striking out 104 batters while only walking 20 in 121.1 innings of work. He hit .340 with two homers and 11 RBI in 47 at bats.
Leake spent the summer of 2008 as a member of the USA Collegiate National Team which ended up finishing the summer with a perfect 24-0 record. He ended up pitching in eight games with two starts accumulating a 3-0 record with a 0.64 ERA.
Mike Leake will be expected to continue to be the ace of the Arizona State pitching staff as they are currently in a rebuilding mode after losing most of their offense from the 2008 team. We think that Leake will be able to handle the pressure as we have seen him able to do during the early part of his career.
You can check out the full top 50 by clicking here.
