Scouting Report, LHP Wade LeBlanc

The 25-year old lefty was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft, and made his major league debut September 3, 2008. He's appeared in 22 games in his major league career (21 starts), including eight this year after Chris Young went on the DL. He has a 4.53 career ERA with a 1.46 WHIP, but posted a 3.69 ERA last year. He has not faced the Mets in his career.

LeBlanc is a "soft-tossing lefty", who's fastball velocity averages 86 mph and rarely touches 90. He also throws a cutter/slider (83 mph), a late-breaking curve ball (74 mph), and a filthy change-up (75 mph). His change-up is his calling card, and it is a plus-plus pitch. He throws it with identical arm speed and from the same slot as his fastball, and throws it 25% of the time. He's a fly-ball pitcher, which helps when he throws half his games in Petco.

He started this year fantastic, making five quality starts and had an ERA of 1.54. However during the last two starts the wheels have fallen off, raising his ERA to 3.71. He had not allowed a HR in his first six starts, but let up four in the past two games. He's striking out only 6.4 per 9, and walking 3.5 per 9. He's only thrown > 100 pitches twice this year, and is averaging less than 5.5 innings per start.