6 Cardinals pitchers who dominated Spring Training but faded away in the regular season

Mike Leake

Spring Training (2016-2017): 46 innings, 3.13 ERA, 38 K's, 8 walks

Cardinals Regular Season Career: 330.2 innings, 4.16 ERA, 228 K's, 65 walks

And now to pay off the tease, time for the aforementioned Mike Leake. He was initially brought in after putting together a solid career with the rival Reds, where he made a name for himself debuting as a 22-year-old, with his only professional innings being in the Arizona Fall League in 2009 after being drafted. Despite skipping the minor leagues, Leake went 8-4 in his rookie year in 138.1 innings. That inning total would actually be the lowest of his career until his final season in 2019. That means he must have done well in St. Louis then, right?

Well, not so much. After bringing in Leake following three consecutive seasons of 190+ innings with double-digit wins and a mid-3 ERA, the Cardinals were hoping he would be a stabilizing arm in the rotation that featured two starters under 25 years old. Because he made his debut so young, Leake was actually only 28 himself but already had seven MLB seasons under his belt. The Cardinals felt they were getting the righty in his prime and gave him a five-year, $80 million deal in the 2015 offseason.

He looked to be the mid-rotation he was in Cincinnati (plus a couple months in San Francisco) during his first Spring Training in Jupiter, where he had a stellar 1.35 ERA in 20 innings. He was never a strikeout pitcher but always limited his walks and continued that trend with an 11:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio during the exhibition season. Leake opened the season as the number three starter behind Adam Wainwright and Martinez, and his Cardinal debut was an unfortunate omen of what was to come. The 28-year-old was hit hard by the Pirates to the tune of seven hits, three walks, and four runs in just 4.1 innings. This was more than just a rough start, though, as Leake gave up at least four runs in his first six starts with St. Louis before righting the ship in May where he went 4-1 with a 2.31 ERA and only six walks.

Unfortunately, May was the only extended run of success that Leake had that season, as he finished with his first losing season since 2012. At the end of the year, he was 9-12 with a 4.69 ERA in 176.2 innings and finished third in the NL in hits allowed. The Cubs ran away with the division in 2016, so an average Leake probably would not have made much difference in the team's playoff chances, so they looked to 2017 as a prime bounce-back spot for both Leake and the team.

The Cardinals returned their starters while subbing Lance Lynn for Jaime Garcia, so Leake was not in danger of losing his roster spot despite the down season. Leake's spring was solid again, throwing 26 innings and breaking camp with a 3-1 record and a 3.81 ERA. He was what the Cardinals expected during the first two months of 2017, going 5-3 with a 2.24 ERA. A concerning trend popped up, though, as Leake continued giving up a lot of hits, but opposing teams were starting to string those together into high-stress innings for the righty. In the season's summer months, Leake gave up an astonishing 116 hits in 85.1 innings. Even while limiting his walks, Leake's WHIP during that three-month stretch was a 1.64, and his inability to strike batters out caught up with him.

Leake's August was woeful, as he threw 25.1 innings in five starts but gave up 42 hits, including five home runs, en route to an 8.88 ERA for the month. With the season going downhill again and prospect Jack Flaherty appearing ready for the majors, the Cardinals finally decided to cut bait with Leake and traded him (plus $17 million and $750,000 in international cap money) to the Seattle Mariners for shortstop Rayder Ascanio. Leake went on to go 3-1 with a 2.53 ERA for the Mariners, while Ascanio was out of affiliated baseball by 2019.

Leake was around league average for the remainder of his time in Seattle and was shipped at the 2019 trade deadline to Arizona where he would finish his career. He opted out of the 2020 COVID season, being the first MLB player to do so, despite that being his final year under contract. The righty did not sign another professional contract and called it a career at the age of 31 after having 10 seasons in the majors.