Homer Bailey is the youngest and most anticipated starting pitcher to Reds fan since Ryan Wagner. He's a strong one with a fast ball that hits the mid-90s and a wicked curveball. His off-speed stuff was slower in developing and was what kept him from being brought up before, along with his ability to handle baserunners.

And, really, there's some debate about whether Homer's readiness really had much to do with his call-up. He may well be ready for the big leagues and everyone hopes the very best for him, but there's little question that he was brought up when he was to generate enthusiasm from a fanbase that was losing interest with a team that was 15 games under .500 and 10.5 games back.

Whatever the reason, here he is. He struck out the first batter he faced at the major league level.

Homer came to the Reds organization in 2004 when he was drafted in the first round as the seventh over-all pick. In his first professional season, he went 0-1, with a 4.38 ERA in 6 appearances for the Gulf Coast League Reds. Prior to going pro, Baily was named to the First team High School All-American and was named Baseball America High School Player of the Year.

He had some very favorable comparisons made about him:

Still, his delivery and stuff draw comparisons to other pitchers the state has produced. And in an era when high school righthanders are picked apart by scouts looking for a reason not to spend an early-round selection and millions of dollars, Bailey stands up to the scrutiny.

“There's always going to be some risk involved with any pitcher you take,” a scouting director said. “But there's going to be some people taking chances on this kind of arm. It's one of those rare ones that doesn't come along often.

“If you look at the state of Texas, two recent ones that have gone out of the state in the first five picks have had a little success: Beckett and (Kerry) Wood.”

In 2005, Bailey was ranked by Baseball America as the Reds' top prospect. He pitched at Class-A Dayton and went 8-4, with a 4.43 ERA in 21 starts and 7 relief appearances for the Dragons.

In 2006, he received the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award as its Minor League Player of the Year.
He split his time between Class A Sarasota and Class AA Chattanooga where he combined to go 10-6 with a 2.47 ERA in 26 starts.

I was several sentences into a post dripping with sarcasm about how Homer's going to single-handedly win the next 15 consecutive games to bring the Reds back to .500 ball, but I decided against it. There's no way Homer saves the team. In all likelihood, he doesn't even make much of a difference.

But, hey, let's take any opportunity we can to get excited. Maybe I'll actually watch the game tonight instead of playing Solitaire on the computer in front of the t.v.

Go Homer! Go Reds!

Reds
Norris Hopper CF
Brandon Phillips 2B
Ken Griffey, Jr. RF
Jeff Conine 1B
Edwin Encarnación 3B
Adam Dunn LF
Alex Gonzalez SS
David Ross C
Homer Bailey P

(Do you ever think that maybe the reason that Ross has this big “better ERA when he's catching” is because he catches Harang and Arroyo and Bailey while Javy and Moeller don't get a chance to catch until it's Stanton and Weathers on the mound?)

Indians
Grady Sizemore CF
Casey Blake 3B
Travis Hafner 1B
Victor Martinez C
Trot Nixon RF
David Dellucci LF
Josh Barfield 2B
Mike Rouse SS
Cliff Lee P