Raw Talent

[dougdirt]

There is no doubt that Bailey has God given talents, and he is still young. His loss of velocity, however, raises doubts for me. If Roenicke has the sharp breaking slider BA describe in the 2006 draft, then he deserves to be on the list.

Bailey didn't lose velocity, he has his 4 seam fastball taken away from him for most of the year.

[Mario-Rijo]

Bailey didn't lose velocity, he has his 4 seam fastball taken away from him for most of the year.

Which makes a lot of sense and is something they should have done long ago. Why so many are not buying that is beyond me.

[GOYA]

For what it's worth, I saw Homer hit 97mph several times during the 2008 season. It is definitely not there consistently, but it's there. He's more often around 92-94 with his fastball.

[Superdude]

Bailey didn't lose velocity, he has his 4 seam fastball taken away from him for most of the year.

This may be a dumb comment, but why? I definitely didn't see him benefiting from a little extra movement last year when he was getting beat all over the place with a K rate under 5. Why would he ditch a 95MPH fastball?

[Mario-Rijo]

This may be a dumb comment, but why? I definitely didn't see him benefiting from a little extra movement last year when he was getting beat all over the place with a K rate under 5. Why would he ditch a 95MPH fastball?

Because when he was allowed to use it as HE saw fit he abused the privilege and didn't develop his other pitches because of it. And it wasn't a permanent move, just one to get him working those pitches then he can start throwing it again. At least that's my take.

[dougdirt]

This may be a dumb comment, but why? I definitely didn't see him benefiting from a little extra movement last year when he was getting beat all over the place with a K rate under 5. Why would he ditch a 95MPH fastball?

He didn't ditch it, the Reds took it from him. The idea was to get him to use his other pitches more and learn to rely on something other than his #1. By the end of the season the development of his slider was showing huge strides. I think in the end its going to look like a good decision for his future.

[Mario-Rijo]

He didn't ditch it, the Reds took it from him. The idea was to get him to use his other pitches more and learn to rely on something other than his #1. By the end of the season the development of his slider was showing huge strides. I think in the end its going to look like a good decision for his future.

How's his change-up coming, any indication it's useable at the major league level yet?

[dougdirt]

How's his change-up coming, any indication it's useable at the major league level yet?

It flashes itself as a better than average pitch, but still inconsistent.

[Mario-Rijo]

It flashes itself as a better than average pitch, but still inconsistent.

Thanks. Maybe if he is steady with that slider and his change up comes around early next season he will be "ready as he ever will be" and can take that #5 spot if no one has pinned it down. If he can then come in under 5.00 era for half a season in the bigs I would consider that a massive hurdle cleared.

[RED VAN HOT]

He didn't ditch it, the Reds took it from him. The idea was to get him to use his other pitches more and learn to rely on something other than his #1. By the end of the season the development of his slider was showing huge strides. I think in the end its going to look like a good decision for his future.

That's useful and encouraging info that I missed last summer. What had stuck in my head were reports of how scouts were shocked at his loss of velocity. Is doing this a normal practice or is Homer more difficult to coach?

[Mario-Rijo]

That's useful and encouraging info that I missed last summer. What had stuck in my head were reports of how scouts were shocked at his loss of velocity. Is doing this a normal practice or is Homer more difficult to coach?

It's not abnormal to take a pitch from a player for some time, although I would assume it's commonly done sooner than AAA/MLB.

[paintmered]

Question: Does Homer still have an option remaining?

[OnBaseMachine]

Question: Does Homer still have an option remaining?

Yeah, he's got one option remaining.

[tripleaaaron]

1. Y Rodriguez

[tripleaaaron]

1. Rodriguez
2. Duran
3. Bailey
4. Soto
5. Alonso
6. Stubbs
7. Lotzkar
8. Dickerson
9. Francisco
10. Watson
11. Stewart
12. Roenicke
13. Frazier
14. Cozart
15. Buck