Homer Bailey
From BR Bullpen
David Dewitt Bailey
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 205 lb.
- High School La Grange High School
- Debut June 8, 2007
- Born May 3, 1986 in La Grange, TX USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Pitcher Homer Bailey is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball as of early 2007.
Bailey beat Forney High School in the Class 3-A Texas high school championship as a freshman. Three years later, he did it again to complete a season in which he was 15-0 with a 0.68 ERA. In 93 IP, he struck out 201 and walked 19 while holding opponents to a .119 average. In the finale, Bailey had fanned 14 and his last pitch in the complete game was a 96-mph fastball. He also went 2 for 3 with a 2-run double in the contest. That year helped separate him from a pack of prospects to be deemed the top high school pitcher in the country by Baseball America. He won the Baseball America High School Player of the Year Award. Overall, he was 41-4 with a 0.98 ERA and 536 strikeout in 298 innings during his prep career.
He was selected by the Cincinnati Reds with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2004 amateur draft. He debuted with the GCL Reds, going 0-1 with a 4.38 ERA. His fastball was clocked at 97 mph and Baseball America rated him as the 20th-best prospect among right-handed pitchers in the minors and the #1 Reds prospect.
In 2005, Bailey led Reds farmhands with 125 strikeouts, accumulated in only 103 2/3 IP. He held opponents to a .232 average and 5 homers. He walked 62, though, so his ERA would still be unimpressive overall at 4.43 as many of those runners came around to score. He had a 8-4 record. Baseball America rated him as the top Reds prospect and the #2 overall prospect in the Midwest League, behind only Carlos Gonzalez.
Bailey's 2006 helped him maintain his prospect status. He led Cincinnati minor leaguers in strikeouts (156) and opponent batting average (.198). His record was 3-5, 3.31 for the Sarasota Reds (49 H, 79 K in 70 2/3 IP) and 7-1, 1.59 for the Chattanooga Lookouts (78 K, 1 HR in 68 IP). Baseball America rated him as the best Reds prospect, the best pitching prospect in the Florida State League, the best prospect in the Southern League, the best prospect in the FSL and as having the best fastball in the FSL. He was the winning pitcher in the 2006 Futures Game, allowing one run and two hits (doubles to George Kottaras and Chin-Lung Hu) in one inning of relief for Jason Hirsh.
Invited to spring training, Bailey struggled in three outings, going 0-1 with a 19.64 ERA and allowing 9 baserunners in 3 2/3 IP. Bailey began 2007 with the Louisville Bats, one step from the majors, and went 6-1 with a 2.31 ERA and 39 hits allowed in 58 1/3 IP. He had fanned 51 and walked 24 and was second to Kevin Slowey in ERA in the International League. When Bobby Livingston was demoted by the Reds, they called up Bailey to join the major league staff. He made his big league debut on June 8th, starting a game against the Cleveland Indians and pitching 5 innings to get the win. He struggled with his control, walking four and hitting one batter while allowing five hits and striking out three.
Primary Sources: 2005-2007 Baseball Almanacs
[edit] Related sites
- thebaseballcube.com - Minor League statistics and analysis
