Lisa Winston on Homer Bailey and Daryl Thompson

[OnBaseMachine]

A phone call away

Speaking of players who have been rushed once already, it's officially time for the Homer Bailey watch to begin again.

After the Reds hastened his arrival in 2007 and saw him initially struggle, Bailey pitched well down the September stretch but was dispatched to Triple-A Louisville this spring to continue to refine his dominant stuff. The 21-year-old Texan has been doing just that, ringing up a 1.95 ERA and 22 strikeouts while walking just seven in 32 1/3 innings. The league is hitting .216 against him, he held the opposition scoreless in two of his five starts, and he's no longer trying to strike everyone out. The Reds have a young staff that get that much younger quickly.

A year away

The temptation is to put right-hander Daryl Thompson in the "Phone Call Away" category, but the Reds will likely be a little more cautious with the 23-year-old, who's tearing it up at Double-A Chattanooga. While he might be a huge surprise to those who have only looked at preseason top-prospect lists, the Maryland native has been regarded as one to watch since the Montreal Expos took him in the eighth round of the 2003 Draft. Shoulder trouble sidelined him for the second half of 2005 and virtually all of '06, and with his velocity still not all the way back in '07, he managed to go 14-5 with a 3.18 ERA. This year, the gun is lighting up in the low to mid-90s, and his 0.57 ERA over his first five starts ranks him third in the Minors. He's struck out 36 batters and walked four while limiting hitters to a .185 average.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/n...milb&fext=.jsp

Just a minor note - Daryl Thompson is only 22...he doesn't turn 23 until late November.

[Superdude]

The league is hitting .216 against him, he held the opposition scoreless in two of his five starts, and he's no longer trying to strike everyone out.

He's finally pitching to contact baby! Get him up here!

[Degenerate39]

Originally Posted by Superdude

He's finally pitching to contact baby! Get him up here!

There would be some people here that would say that's a bad thing. But pitching to contact worked pretty well for Greg Maddux so keep on doing what you're doing Homer. You don't have to strike everyone out.

[PuffyPig]

Originally Posted by Degenerate39

There would be some people here that would say that's a bad thing. But pitching to contact worked pretty well for Greg Maddux so keep on doing what you're doing Homer. You don't have to strike everyone out.

Giving up K's only makes sense if (1) your control improves such that you don't walk as many;and (2) you don't give up as many HR's.

Maddux was so good becuase he still struck out a reasonable amount, and was very stingy with the walks and the HR's.

.

[UC_Ken]

Greg Maddux is 11th all time in strikeouts. I know he was never Randy Johnson or Pedro Martinez when it comes to K's but he was a very good strikeout pitcher in the 90's.

[redsmetz]

Originally Posted by Superdude

He's finally pitching to contact baby! Get him up here!

I'm hoping Jockety will maintain the progression formula Krivsky followed pretty strictly - minor leaguers moving up step by step. I'd rather not see Thompson jump directly from AA to the ML's. I still think that having a player go level to level, even if it's just a brief stay at a level, will serve us better in the long run.

[M2]

and he's no longer trying to strike everyone out.

Ks are zen. One should not try to strike everyone out, one should just do it.

Bailey will only succeed in the majors if he's a high K pitcher and today's 10 K effort in 7 IP is very encouraging. It's the kind of pitcher he needs to be -- not try to be, just be.

[dougdirt]

Originally Posted by M2

Ks are zen. One should not try to strike everyone out, one should just do it.

Bailey will only succeed in the majors if he's a high K pitcher and today's 10 K effort in 7 IP is very encouraging. It's the kind of pitcher he needs to be -- not try to be, just be.

I think maybe not trying to strikeout everyone however could have helped him hone his stuff to the point where he can now actually do it.

[M2]

Originally Posted by dougdirt

I think maybe not trying to strikeout everyone however could have helped him hone his stuff to the point where he can now actually do it.

Agreed. Hopefully we'll see him post large K totals from here on out.

[lollipopcurve]

Agreed. Hopefully we'll see him post large K totals from here on out.

Moderate totals do not constitute a red flag, in my opinion -- the K/BB ratio is more important for Bailey. He needs to be able to go 6+ consistently.