Homer Bailey

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This article is on the baseball player. For other persons named David Bailey, see David Bailey (disambiguation)

David "Homer" Dewitt Bailey Jr. was born on May 3, 1986 in LaGrange, Texas. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the First Round and Seventh overall. He headed the USAToday 2004 All-USA High School baseball team. His high school stats were staggaring. He was 15-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings his senior season and was 41-4 with 536 strikeouts, 0.98 ERA in 298 innings in his High School career. He has progressed as a minor league player and has recently proclaimed the third best prospect in the minor leagues and the best minor league pitcher. His pitching repertoire includes a mid to upper nineties fastball with good movement, a low eighties curve ball with 12-to-6 break.

He struggled for the first few years in the minor leagues, posting ERAs above 4.00. Part of this can be attributed to the "piggy-back" system that was put in place by Reds General Manager Dan O'Brien. He was also told to use his weakest pitch, the change-up, and learn to develop it so that he could use it in the more advanced levels. However, under new management in 2006, the Reds ditched the piggy-back system, allowing Bailey to pitch every fifth day on a regular basis, instead of cutting his work load and forcing him to pitch twice a week. 2006 became a breakout year for Bailey as he was named the top prospect for the Florida State League (Advanced A) where he played for the Sarasota Reds and the Southern League (AA)where he played for the Chattanooga Lookouts.

[edit] Concerns

Most scouts agree that the biggest problem with Homer Bailey is his occasional control problems. However, in the 2006 season, he showed much more control than in previous years, allowing him to have a breakout year for himself.

[edit] Sources

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