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This article is on the baseball player. For other persons named David Bailey, see David Bailey (disambiguation)

David "Homer" Dewitt Bailey Jr. (born May 3, 1986 in La Grange, Texas) is a pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Bailey was drafted by the Reds in the first round of the 2004 MLB Draft (7th overall). The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder headed the USAToday 2004 All-USA High School baseball team — his high school stats were staggering (15-0 with a 0.68 ERA and 201 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings his senior season and 41-4 with 536 strikeouts, 0.98 ERA in 298 innings in his High School career). Bailey has progressed as a minor league player and enters 2007 with a case to be considered the best pitching prospect in baseball.

Bailey's pitching repertoire includes a mid- to upper-nineties fastball with good movement, a low eighties curve ball with 12-to-6 break, and a developing changeup. He has struck out an average of more than 10 batters per nine innings in each of his last three stops in the minors (10.19 in AA, 10.06 in A+, and 10.85 in A).

Some critics believe Bailey wasn't allowed to let loose enough in his first minor league season,^{[citation needed]} as he put up a 1.46 WHIP. Part of this can be attributed to the "piggy-back" system that was put in place by then Reds General Manager Dan O'Brien. Bailey was also told to use his weakest pitch, the changeup, and learn to develop it so that he could use it in the more advanced levels. However, under new management in 2006, the Reds ditched the piggy-back system, allowing Bailey to pitch every fifth day, instead of cutting his work load and forcing him to pitch twice a week. 2006 became a breakout year for Bailey: he was named Baseball America's top prospect in the Florida State League (Advanced A), where he played for the Sarasota Reds and in the Southern League (AA) where he played for the Chattanooga Lookouts. Entering 2007, he was considered to be among the elite prospects in the game and one of the top five pitching prospects in the game (along with his contemporary Philip Hughes, who he has typically been rated against.)

Bailey played three games with the Reds in spring training in 2007, going 0-1 with a 19.64 ERA before the Reds sent him to their minor league camp on March 16. The Reds had planned to have him start the year with the Class AAA Louisville Bats. [1]

Bailey took his nickname, "Homer", after his great-grandfather. [2]

• http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/B/Homer-Bailey.shtml
• http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/baseball/2004-06-29-all-usa_x.htm
• http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/2004draft/040601bailey.html
• http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/hughes-bailey-and-gallardo/
• http://www.projectprospect.com/homer-bailey-9-25-06/

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