1. Norris Hopper CF
2. Brandon Phillips 2B
3. Ken Griffey Jr. RF
4. Jeff Conine 1B
5. Edwin Encarnacion 3B
6. Adam Dunn LF
7. Alex Gonzalez SS
8. David Ross C
9. Homer Bailey SP
Indians:
1. Grady Sizemore CF
2. Casey Blake 3B
3. Travis Hafner 1B
4. Victor Martinez C
5. Trot Nixon RF
6. David Dellucci LF
7. Josh Barfield 2B
8. Mike Rouse SS
9. Cliff Lee P
Alex Gonzalez will start for the first time since June 3rd against the rockies. He had suffered a hamstring injury. Hopefully his bat in the 7th hole can the help the reds offense against the indians. I really do not think that Jeff Conine should be hitting cleanup in the lineup. He is a pretty good hitter, but he does not have that much power. Instead, I would like to see Adam Dunn or Edwin Encarnacion there. Norris Hopper will get the start in CF instead of Josh Hamilton, who is most likely sitting because of a left hander pitching for the indians. Also, Hopper will provide a much better leadoff hitter than Scott Hatteberg, who has been batting first for the last two days when Hopper has not started.
Very tough lineup for Homer Bailey and the reds to face tonight. They will really have to be on their game in order to get the reds a win tonight against Cleveland.
Here is the weather forecast for tonights game starting at 7:10 Eastern:
It is predicted to be about 82 degrees tonight, but it will feel like 87. The sun will be setting at 9:02 PM, making it light out until then obviously. There is a 40% chance of strong storms at the ballpark. Hopefully that does not come, and we can have an uninterrupted game. The wind will be blowing from the WSW at about 14mph. This means that the wind will be blowing out to left field.
Obviously the story line of tonights game is Homer Bailey's MLB debut. So far in Louisville in AAA this year in ten starts, he is 6-1, has an ERA of 2.31, 58.1 innings pitched, has given up 39 hits, 3 for homeruns, given up 18 runs, 15 of them earned, walked 24 batters and struck out 51, and has a whip of 1.08. Those numbers are obviously very good, but we'll just have to see how they pan out in the majors. The biggest flaw in his game is his command, mainly of his breaking pitches. That is what he and his coaches have been focusing on in his 2+ months so far in AAA. Here is a scouting report on him from the beginning of this year:
http://mvn.com/milb-minordetails/2007/03/09/prospect-spotlight-homer-bailey/
Prospect Spotlight: Homer Bailey
Name: Homer Bailey
Organization: Cincinnati Reds
Position: SP
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Height: 6-4
Weight: 185 lbs
Scouting Report: Before the start of every new season it seems as if everyone rolls out their own “Top Prospects” list. While everyone’s differs in some way, shape, or form, there has been one thing that has been consistent across the boards this season. No matter who it is doing the list, the top two pitching prospects are always some variation of Philip Hughes and Homer Bailey. I personally feel that Bailey is the better pitcher, however Hughes will probably end up seeing more success due to the fact that as long as he’s wearing Yankee pinstripes, he’ll always have a powerful lineup behind him. But one thing is for certain, no matter which one you believe is superior, you can’t argue the abilities of the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospect Homer Bailey.
The tall right hander was chosen with the seventh overall pick straight out of high school in the 2004 draft. He entered the draft with high accolades and many scouts singing his praises as the best high school pitching prospect in the country. In fact, despite Bailey pitching against some of the toughest competition in the country, he still dominated on mound and went on to be named Baseball America’s High School Player of the Year.
After the Reds drafted the Texas born fireballer, Bailey would go on to have a rough first year as a pro. Bailey would end up struggling a bit with his command and was forced by coaches to rely heavily on his changeup (his weakest pitch) in order to help develop it further. Despite his struggles it was still obvious that he had the skills of a superstar in the making. That became very apparent in 2006 when he had a breakout season and named Baseball America’s top prospect in the Florida State League as a member of the Sarasota Reds and in the Southern League as a member of the Chattanooga Lookouts. 2006 was a huge year for Bailey as his performances helped etch his name as one of the top overall prospects in all of baseball.
| YR | LEVEL | W-L | ERA | G | IP | BB | SO | K9 | WHIP |
| 2006 | A+ | 3-5 | 3.31 | 13 | 70.2 | 22 | 79 | 10.06 | 1.00 |
| 2006 | AA | 7-1 | 1.59 | 13 | 68.0 | 28 | 77 | 10.19 | 1.15 |
Bailey has all the pieces to be a number one starter for years to come. He’s tall with a big league frame and superb arm action. He has a 3/4 slot motion that allows him to stay tall along with two plus pitches (fastball at 89-97 mph with good movement and a curveball at 75-80 mph with a dominant 12-to-6 break) which when he has working makes him virtually untouchable. He has been trying to develop his changeup which is currently below average, but the Reds hope he will be able to improve it with another year of seasoning in the minors. The only concern scouts have had with this youngster is his lack of control at times. Most of these worries were put to rest last year as he improved immensely from his rocky 2005 season. Bailey has the makeup of a true work horse and once he is able to improve his changeup, will have quite a strong arsenal of pitches at his disposal.
As I said earlier, I believe Homer Bailey is the top pitching prospect in the game of baseball. He will be a number one starter for years to come and should be able to overcome the hitter’s heaven known as the Great American Ballpark. Despite having an unfortunate first name for a pitcher, Bailey has the build, potential, tools, and confidence to be one of the best pitchers in baseball in the next few years.
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Tonights game will most likely be a sell out, and hopefully Bailey can impress the fans in the stands. Standing in his way is Cliff Lee, who is 2-2 with a 5.86 ERA. He's been hit so far this year, so hopefully we can get some runs for Homer.
My prediction for tonights game is 9-5 Indians. I think that Homer Bailey will go 41/3 innings, giving up 6 runs. I really hope that I am wrong, but I just believe that his command is not good enough yet to be in the majors. If this does happen where Bailey has a bad or even awful start, fans should not be discouraged or consider Bailey a bust. It is going to take time for Homer to learn how to pitch in the MLB, and he might struggle in his first couple starts. I think that management should keep him up in the MLB even if he does have a bad start, so that he can learn while he is going. Jerry Narron apparently thinks that if Bailey can locate his fastball, he could have success.We'll be seeing enough.
The reds are 23-38, and 10.5 games behind the Brewers for first place in the national league central division. The indians are 36-22, in first place by 2.5 games in the american league central division. It would be a great start to come back for the reds by winning a series against a very good american league team, such as the indians are. So, lets go reds and Homer Bailey, lets get a win against a rival.
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