Homer Bailey

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

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[edit] Biographical Information

Pitcher Homer Bailey, a top pitching prospect for years, has pitched in the majors since 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 and signed by scout Mike Powers. 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 in 2007, Bailey struggled in three outings, going 0-1 with a 19.64 ERA and allowing 9 baserunners in 3 2/3 IP. Bailey began the season 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. He finished the season at 4-2, 5.76 in 9 starts, then in 2008 was only 0-6, with a 7.93 ERA. He was 4-7, 4.77 with Louisville that season, and would pitch part of the next three seasons in the minor leagues as well.

In 2009, he made 20 starts at the major league level, going 8-5 with 4.53 ERA. In 2010, his record was 4-3, 4.46 in 19 starts as the Reds won the NL Central title. He pitched once in relief in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies, getting two scoreless innings in Game 3 on October 10th while Cincinnati was swept in three games. As of the end of the 2012 season, that remains his sole relief appearance at the major league level. In 2011, he was 9-7, 4.43 in 22 starts as his 132 innings were the most in any of his big league seasons up to that point.

In [[2012 Reds|2012], Bailey spent the entire season in the major leagues for the first time of his career. On September 28th, he no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, striking out 10 while walking only one; Clint Barmes also reached base on Scott Rolen's error in the 3rd inning. It was the Reds' first no-hitter since Tom Browning's perfect game in 1988, and the seventh no-hitter of the season in the major leagues, tying the modern record set in 1990 and tied in 1991. He finished the year with a record of 13-10, 3.68 in 33 starts - tied for most in the National League - throwing 208 innings and striking out 168 batters. For the first time, his numbers were in line with what was expected when he became a first-round draft choice. The Reds won the NL Central title for the second time in three years and Bailey was given the ball for Game 3 of the NLDS on October 9th against the San Francisco Giants, with the Reds already up two games to none. Homer did his job brilliantly, pitching 7 innings of one-hit ball during which he struck out 10 opponents, but he left with the score tied, 1-1 and the Giants squeezed out a 2-1 win in the 10th, then won the next two games to end Cincinnati's season.

Bailey filed for salary arbitration heading into the 2013 season, but was one the last two players to agree on a salary with his team, signing a one-year deal for $5.35 million on February 16th. Combined with the deal reached by Clayton Richard with the San Diego Padres, it meant that no arbitration filing would result in a hearing that year, a first since the creation of the arbitration process in 1974.

Primary Sources: 2005-2007 Baseball Almanacs

[edit] Notable Achievements

• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 1 (2012)

[edit] Related sites

• Homer Bailey on mlb.com
• thebaseballcube.com - Minor League statistics and analysis