Bailey impresses in intrasquad game

By: Justice B. Hill / Mlb.com

Homer Bailey throwing a curveball. Photo: Al Behrman

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Homer Bailey didn't know why the Reds picked him and right-hander Bronson Arroyo to start in their intrasquad game here Wednesday. Bailey did have some thoughts about his selection, though.

"I think they just went in alphabetical order -- Arroyo then me," he said. "That's what I thought it was."

Bailey's comments drew laughter. Not that Bailey wasn't right, for it well could have been how the decision was made. His name does follow Arroyo's on an alphabetical listing of players at Reds camp.

But surely the Reds wanted to see Bailey, whom Baseball America ranks as the top prospect in the organization, perform in front of fans at Ed Smith Stadium, and they did. He left them impressed.

"He's so smooth it just seems like half of the pitch gets on you a lot quicker than it looks," said Adam Dunn, one of four hitters Bailey faced in his one-inning outing.

The 20-year-old Bailey didn't make a big to-do of his performance. While he admitted he tried to impress people, he also wanted to work on some things. In his case, that meant working on his offspeed pitches.

Nobody questions the high-octane fastball Bailey possesses, because it's the pitch that had long drawn raves from scouts. But to get to the big leagues, he'll need more than one pitch to survive, which is why he's been working on his offspeed stuff.

He did just that in his outing Wednesday.

"I think all my offspeed pitches were either hit or strikes," Bailey said. "It's something I worked on in the offseason.

"But I wasn't quite locating like I wanted to. I left a few of 'em up."

He didn't leave any of 'em up to Dunn.

"He threw me a good changeup," he said of Bailey. "I know that's not his pitch; he's working on it."

It's that pitch that will decide how quickly he goes from prospect to a Major Leaguer. But like any pitcher in the early days of Spring Training, Bailey is trying to find his groove. He's working on mechanics and location. His strength is there, and so is his fastball.

"But that doesn't mean I have to go out there and try to throw 97 every pitch," he said.

And he didn't try to do that either, which perhaps explains why his outing was as uneventful as it was: four hitters, one walk, no runs.

Not a bad box score for a pitcher fresh from the college ranks. His work performance showed people plenty, particularly Dunn.

"He looked good," Dunn said of Bailey. "I'm on the bandwagon."

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