Mike Leake's San Francisco Giants' debut went according to plan last Sunday against the Texas Rangers, limiting them to two earned runs on eight hits and two walks over 6 1/3 innings pitched. But Leake's second start has now been pushed back after the 27-year-old felt tightness in his left hamstring during conditioning work. As a result, he was scratched from Friday's start against the Chicago Cubs.
Leake was just acquired on July 30 from the Cincinnati Reds, with the Giants anxiously looking to upgrade their rotation and move on from Tim Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong. While his absence is expected to be brief, with hope that he just misses the one start, it couldn't come at a worse time.
San Francisco's next 26 games all come against playoff contenders with contests against the Chicago Cubs (home and away), Houston Astros, Washington Nationals (four game series), St. Louis Cardinals (home and away), Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers. If Leake were to miss extended time, meaning a trip to the disabled list, San Francisco would have to turn to Ryan Vogelsong, who owns a 4.16 ERA and 1.38 WHIP between 16 starts and eight relief appearances this season.
Vogelsong will be on the mound Friday against the Chicago Cubs, which could become a heavy bullpen game for San Francisco given Vogelsong hasn't pitched more than six innings since June 30.
Fantasy Spin:
As of now Vogelsong is slated to just take Leake's place for one turn through the rotation. He'll face a Cubs' lineup that has a meager .298 weighted on-base average and .138 isolated power, with a high propensity to strikeout at a 24.3 strikeout rate. It's a very risky play at a cheap price in DFS and you are probably better off finding better options.