5-8 minor league updates

[OnBaseMachine]

Homer Bailey pitching for Sarasota

Johnny Cueto, who has arguably been the most impressive Reds prospect this year, is pitching for Dayton.

[dougdirt]

Good night for pitching prospects huh?

I am burning DVDs right now so I dont want to stream the internet feed of the Dayton game just yet. Lets hope our boys top to bottom can pull out some wins tonight.

[Aronchis]

Night of the hard throwing righties.

[dougdirt]

Tyler Pelland is on the mound for Chattanooga and Michael gosling is on the mound for the Louisville Bats.

Cody Ross also jsut hit a home run for Louisville.

[Doc. Scott]

Cody Ross has slammed a first-inning homer. Bats up 1-0.

[OnBaseMachine]

Of course Cueto gives up a HR as soon as I praise him. He retired the first two hitters before allowing a single and 2-run HR. He K'd the next batter.

[dougdirt]

Brandon Roberts led off the game with a single for Sarasota, then stole his 16th base of the season. He later scored on a Cody Strait single. Sarasota up 1-0 after half an inning. Bailey to take the mound.

[rdiersin]

Janish with a double, and then Bruce hits a homer to tie it.

[dougdirt]

Same thing happened earlier this year when I started praising how Adam Rosales was picking up right where he left off....then he went out and just couldnt get the hits to fall for him. Still wonder how long he was hurting before he said something though?

[dougdirt]

Nice, thats 6 for Jay in this young season. I want to talk to those scouts who were saying his bat wouldnt come around for a few years....

[OnBaseMachine]

Janish with a double, and then Bruce hits a homer to tie it.

Jay Bruce is an absolute stud. I put him in the Adam Dunn/Austin Kearns class of outfield prospects. Hopefully he will be playing along side those two guys within the next 2-3 years.

[dougdirt]

Ya know, I think he is already playing better than what Kearns was doing when he was 19 and in the Midwest league. Kearns only had 13 home runs his first time through the leage at 19....he of course tore through the league as a 20 year old. Heck Dunn hit only 11, he played in about 25 fewer games than did Kearns though.

[OnBaseMachine]

What's scary about Bruce, though, is he is still listed at 6'3" and 195 pounds. He still has plenty of room to fill out, and of course more power will come with that.

[dougdirt]

Louisville still up 1-0 in the second inning.

Dayton up 3-2 after 1 thanks to Jay Bruce and Eric Eymann HR's

[OnBaseMachine]

Pelland hit the first batter and walked the second but got a strikeout, flyout, and groundout to get out of the first inning.

[dougdirt]

Bailey 1 bb, 2k in the first inning. Sarasota leads 1-0 after 1.

[OnBaseMachine]

Bailey K's the first two batters...walked the third and then got a groundout.

Cueto K's a couple hitters in the 2nd, but allowed a single and RBI double Disappointing start for him. I believe it's only his second bad outing, the first came in his first start.

[rdiersin]

Interesting about Bruce's power, if he keeps this pace up that is, is compared with what Dunn and Kearns did. Its not just the home runs, but the doubles and extra-base hits in general. He is just killing the ball.


Age AB/2B AB/XBH
Kearns 19 13.08 7.89
20 11.83 7.33
Dunn 19 19.56 10.79
20 14.48 9.13
Bruce 19 10.55 6.44

[OnBaseMachine]

Pelland K's two in the 2nd, allowed a single in between.

2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Votto is 0-1.

[dougdirt]

Louisville still up 1-0, now in the middle of the 3rd inning.

Dayton is up 5-3 after 2.

[dougdirt]

Paul Janish is 2-2 with 2 doubles for Dayton. The 1-2-3 hitters are 4-6 with 4 RBI after two innings for Dayton.

[dougdirt]

Bailey is now through 3 innings, no hits, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts.

[OnBaseMachine]

Homer has a no-hitter through 3 innings, with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts.

[rdiersin]

BJ must have had a nice catch by the sound of it, after Cueto strikes out another to make 4, I think. One has to wonder what they are going to do with Janish. He's been hitting like crazy and is old for the league. I know the Reds probably would like Rosales to stay at SS until he shows that he can't handle it, but how long do they hold Janish in Low A? I'd like to see if he has actually improved, or if it is simply that he is old for the league.

[OnBaseMachine]

Pelland 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K

[dougdirt]

Well right now Rosales is on the DL....why they havent called up Janish to Sarasota yet, I am not sure of.

[dougdirt]

Louisville is down 2-1 after 3 innings.

[dougdirt]

Cueto is getting roughed up a little bit today. 6 hits, 4 runs through 3 innings.

[OSURedLeg]

Well right now Rosales is on the DL....why they havent called up Janish to Sarasota yet, I am not sure of.

How did Rosales get injured? He has struggled so far with his bat, so I'm wondering if it was anything nagging that was causing him to struggle with the bat.

[dougdirt]

He has elbow tendonitis. I have a feeling it is what caused him to struggle the last few weeks, but maybe not.

[OnBaseMachine]

Bailey K's the side in the 4th inning while maintaining his no-hitter.

4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

[membengal]

And now, I have my thread to check on for the night. Thanks for the updates, fellas.

[membengal]

Bailey K's the side in the 4th inning while maintaining his no-hitter.

4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K

Stong. To quite strong.

[OnBaseMachine]

Cueto is getting roughed up a little bit today. 6 hits, 4 runs through 3 innings.

The good thing is, despite his struggles tonight he has still put up a 0 bb/4 k rate in 3 innings.

Pelland 4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K

[rdiersin]

Well right now Rosales is on the DL....why they havent called up Janish to Sarasota yet, I am not sure of.

Thanks, I noticed that he hasn't played in the past 3 games, but hadn't read that he went on the DL. My only guess as to why not call up Janish is that whatever is wrong with Rosales probably isn't a big deal, i.e. he'll miss the minimum of games. I kind of think that makes sense, if they are going to call up Janish it might as well be for good and let him play. Maybe they'll give him the big jump to AA.

[dougdirt]

Bailey just seems to pitch a whole lot better on the road this season.

[Doc. Scott]

Cueto's out of the game for Dayton- 3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR. But the Dragons continue to lead, 5-4.

[dougdirt]

Bailey is through 5. No hits, 1 bb, 9 strikeouts.

[OnBaseMachine]

No-no through 5 with 9 K and 1 BB.

[OSURedLeg]

Regarding Janish, I read in an article printed today that he was actually practicing with the AA squad during Spring Training, so I guess that means it is possible he may get the big jump. I would much rather he hit at the High A level before he is pushed into the fire in AA, but we'll see.

[dougdirt]

Louisville is down 3-1 after 4 1/2.

Chattanooga is in a tie game through 3 1/2 where only 1 hit has been allowed by either team.

[membengal]

Doug and OBM, thanks a ton for the updates once again. I have linked this thread back on Reds Live, so a few more may wander this way...

[Elam]

No-no through 5 with 9 K and 1 BB.
It's times like these I wish Sarasota had a internet radio feed.

[dougdirt]

You and me both Redsin07!!!

[dougdirt]

Chattanooga is hitless and has only allowed 1 hit through 4. Game tied 0-0.

Louisville is still down 3-1 in the 5th.

Dayton is up 5-4 in the 5th.

[Elam]

Bailey 6 IP 0 H 1 BB 11 K

[OnBaseMachine]

Homer K's his 10th batter of the game to leadoff the 6th...then gets a groundout and another strikeout!

6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K

This one is even more impressive than the last no-hitter. Two more K's and one less walks this time. Best performance by a Reds prospect in a long while.

[Elam]

Bailey's night is over.

[dougdirt]

2 straight road starts for Bailey going 6 innings and no hits. I really dont think he liked Ed Smith Stadium.....

[tbball10]

bailey is so inconsistent... 2 no-hitters in 3 starts

[Aronchis]

Bailey's night is done. I will make sure to miss his next start;)

[Betterread]

Thanks for the updates. The optimism pendulum for Bailey swings up once again, with 2 no-hit outings in his last 3 starts.

[OnBaseMachine]

I wonder if the Reds are only letting Bailey cut it loose every other start? I remember after his last no-no, the pitching coach was quoted as saying they finally let Bailey go out there and use his fastball.


"Homer had been pitching backwards a lot, throwing his breaking stuff first, and today we told him to go out there and trust his fastball," Scott said. "We told him to go out there and get beat with his best stuff if he's got to get beat. He was locating his fastball well, and that allowed him to get ahead in the count. Staying ahead in the count will be key for him. Once he gets that under his belt, he'll be able to take it to the next level."

[OnBaseMachine]

Updated 2006 stats for Homer Bailey

37.2 IP, 24 H, 3 HR, 10 BB, 44 K, 0.91 WHIP, 3.35 ERA

5.8 H/9
2.4 BB/9
10.7 K/9

[OnBaseMachine]

Jay Bruce just hit another 2-run HR! His 2nd HR of the game. #6 and 7 for Bruce.

[OSURedLeg]

It's been a good night so far for some of our top prospects. :thumbup:

[dougdirt]

I love Jay Bruce in the most heterosexual way possible.

[OSURedLeg]

Easy big fella

[dougdirt]

haha, im not that big....but thats ok. He is real good.

[OnBaseMachine]

Schmidt blew the no-no and shutout in the 7th.

[Buckeye33]

haha, im not that big....but thats ok. He is real good.

Hmmm...that statement just seems more wrong than the "I love Bruce" line.

:eek:

[edabbs44]

Not trying to rush it here, but what's the feeling on Bailey getting the call to AA? Mid-season, if he stays effective and healthy throughout?

[OSURedLeg]

Not trying to rush it here, but what's the feeling on Bailey getting the call to AA? Mid-season, if he stays effective and healthy throughout?

I don't think it's effectiveness that has been the concern with the Reds and promoting Bailey. It sounds like it has to do more with his ability to show consistency from one outing to the next, as well as the development of his change up. However, if things continue to click for him, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he got a promotion sometime around mid to late June.

[REDSEER]

I could see a promotion after the draft, depending on whether we choose many college level players that could step in and contribute at the A level. Nevertheless, Bailey gets the call up (to AA) sometime this year.

[traderumor]

Wow on Homer. Two no-nos in three starts with 11Ks is something to write home about. I was just checking out the videos posted on another thread, which is the first I've seen his motion. His bringing up the left leg reminds of El Duque.

[Betterread]

Not trying to rush it here, but what's the feeling on Bailey getting the call to AA? Mid-season, if he stays effective and healthy throughout?
Before being promoted to AA, he should be pitching 7 innings or more each start. Right now he is going 5-6 innings consistently, so his strength and stamina are question marks.
It's good to see him having dominant performances and developing confidence while still developing his pitches, his rhythm and his ability to deal with adversity.

[tbball10]

Before being promoted to AA, he should be pitching 7 innings or more each start. Right now he is going 5-6 innings consistently, so his strength and stamina are question marks.
It's good to see him having dominant performances and developing confidence while still developing his pitches, his rhythm and his ability to deal with adversity.

I believe he is only allowed to throw 90 pitches each start, and when you are striking out 11, that makes for a high pitch count. That is why he isn't throwing 7 innings, and if I'm not mistaken, if he gets promoted to AA, he will still throw 90 pitches, because the pitch counts are done by age.

[membengal]

True dat. He is on a strict pitch count (which is a good thing). And, agreed, tr, two of these kinds of performances in this short an amount of time is enough to allow a little excitement and hope to build anyway...

I like how the Reds are handling Bailey so far this year, the assignment to Sarasota was right on, and it sounds like they have been working with him extensively on his change, which is exactly where I would hope he is concentrating. He is so young, if managed properly and if he stays injury free, he really could be a huge prospect for this club, to either have and to hold or to actually use as a chip in deals later this summer or into the off-season.

Either way, it would be a nice position for this club to be in with a pitching prospect, for a change.

[OnBaseMachine]

Hammerheads survive Bailey's gem
Sarasota hurler no-hits team through six for second time in two weeks
By Eric Justic / Special to MLB.com

Homer Bailey fanned a season-high 11 in six no-hit frames, but it wasn't enough as visiting Sarasota fell to Jupiter, 2-1, on Monday.

Bailey left with a 1-0 lead after the sixth inning. The right-hander tossed his most dominant start for the Reds (16-15) to date. He also didn't allow any hits or runs through six against Lakeland on April 27, but that no-hit bid was broken up on a one-out bunt single in the ninth inning.

Just two batters reached base against Bailey in this contest. Brad McCann walked with two outs in the first and Brad Davis got aboard on catcher's interference in the second.

Bailey's stuff was untouchable as only two balls were hit out of the infield and his 11 strikeouts matched a career high set on August 11, 2005, while pitching for the Dayton Dragons of the Midwest League.

'It wasn't a whole lot of strain," Bailey said. "I'm getting at my peak toward the end of the start. All the games I have been taken out in, I feel like I had been rolling. I was getting stronger the last two innings and starting to unwind. For the first time in a while, I felt like I had control of my curveball. All three of my pitches were working and I felt like I was able to locate them all."

Bailey wanted to head out for the seventh, but the Reds have a strict 90-pitch limit for the 2004 first-round pick. The Hammerheads (13-18) immediately broke up the no-hitter and snagged the win off Sarasota reliever Jeremy Schmidt (0-3).

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060508&content_id=68747&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

[traderumor]

'It wasn't a whole lot of strain," Bailey said. "I'm getting at my peak toward the end of the start. All the games I have been taken out in, I feel like I had been rolling. I was getting stronger the last two innings and starting to unwind. For the first time in a while, I felt like I had control of my curveball. All three of my pitches were working and I felt like I was able to locate them all."Perhaps the inconsistency comes for Homer not yet figuring out how to get batters out when he does not have his best stuff. It seems like when he does, he is unhittable, literally. Since that is common to all pitchers, that would seem to be the next hurdle for his developers to tackle. For example, he said he has not had command of his curve of late, so lean more on the change until the curve returns.

[lollipopcurve]

Perhaps the inconsistency comes for Homer not yet figuring out how to get batters out when he does not have his best stuff.

I would say that's probably part of what he needs to do, but he still needs time to work on the command of his curve and change. He can handle a promotion to AA this year, I think, but I still would not like to see him in the majors until mid 2007 at the earliest.

He's the best arm the Reds have had since Soto, easily.

[TRF]

What was Pellands final line?

[traderumor]

I would say that's probably part of what he needs to do, but he still needs time to work on the command of his curve and change. He can handle a promotion to AA this year, I think, but I still would not like to see him in the majors until mid 2007 at the earliest.

He's the best arm the Reds have had since Soto, easily.Oh sure, and command of those two will certainly make him more consistent. But also learning what it takes to get guys out outing after outing with varying "stuff" is something that all studs can do. He will be a good measuring stick if there have been any significant changes in our pitching development program, if they can harness Bailey's stuff and turn him into a pitcher rather than just a chucker who is only as good as his stuff is on any given night.

[rdiersin]

What was Pellands final line?

5IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 6K, 4BB, 1HB

[lollipopcurve]

He will be a good measuring stick if there have been any significant changes in our pitching development program, if they can harness Bailey's stuff and turn him into a pitcher rather than just a chucker who is only as good as his stuff is on any given night.

Bailey is more than just a chucker. He's got two potentially dominant pitches and a change that seems to be developing. I agree that getting by without his best stuff is an important hurdle for him, but I don't place responsibility for that solely on the coaches. He's got to show that he has the moxie to think out there on the mound. From the quotes we've seen from him, he appears to be working in that direction, so I'm optimistic.

[traderumor]

Bailey is more than just a chucker. He's got two potentially dominant pitches and a change that seems to be developing. I agree that getting by without his best stuff is an important hurdle for him, but I don't place responsibility for that solely on the coaches. He's got to show that he has the moxie to think out there on the mound. From the quotes we've seen from him, he appears to be working in that direction, so I'm optimistic.

Until a guy can show he knows how to pitch, I don't care how hard he throws and if he has two dominant pitches, he's a chucker. And yes, most of that is the mental approach to the game and the quotes are encouraging, but he is still a chucker at this point in his career. That's not a bad thing, there aren't too many 20 year-olds that fall into the category of a pitcher moreso than a guy with good stuff that needs to learn how to pitch. That's what the minors are for.

[lollipopcurve]

he is still a chucker at this point in his career. That's not a bad thing, there aren't too many 20 year-olds that fall into the category of a pitcher moreso than a guy with good stuff that needs to learn how to pitch.

Eh, whatever. The minors are littered with "pitchers" then -- guys who have average stuff who get by on location and outsmarting hitters. Think Steve Kelly. Guys with Homer's stuff are rare -- and if you look at his BB numbers for this year you can add developing control to his arsenal, which, I might offer, takes him out of the "chucker" bin and places him closer to your definition of a pitcher. In my book, chuckers are guys with 98 MPH fastballs and little else -- Colt Griffin, Matt Anderson. But that's just my lexicon.

[traderumor]

Eh, whatever. The minors are littered with "pitchers" then -- guys who have average stuff who get by on location and outsmarting hitters. Think Steve Kelly. Guys with Homer's stuff are rare -- and if you look at his BB numbers for this year you can add developing control to his arsenal, which, I might offer, takes him out of the "chucker" bin and places him closer to your definition of a pitcher. In my book, chuckers are guys with 98 MPH fastballs and little else -- Colt Griffin, Matt Anderson. But that's just my lexicon.Fair enough. I have watched so much bad pitching in this offense-dominated era that my definition has become much more encompassing :evil: