As you may remember, I wrote an article not too long ago about how the Cincinnati Reds had “wasted money” on Homer Bailey’s gargantuan-sized contract. In that article, I was very critical of Bailey, maybe even a little bit too critical, as I pointed out multiple flaws and weaknesses in Homer’s pitching. As a journalist, it is kind of difficult to face that I was wrong, but as a Reds fan I am very relieved that I was wrong about Homer Bailey being an unsuccessful pitcher.
Now I am not saying that I actually think Bailey truly deserves the size of the contract that he now has from Cincinnati, because he still does not. However, that could change by the end of this season because he really is turning his inconsistent, sloppy pitching around and becoming a solid performer on the mound.
Looking at this season overall, it has not been good for Homer Bailey. That was something I pointed out in my previous article, as many of his stats were way below what they were expected to be, including his earned-run average. However, his recent pitching performances have been an entirely different story. In the month of April, Homer Bailey had just one win. His stats and rankings were nothing impressive, and he seemed a bit overrated. Ever since May started it has been the exact opposite. Homer has a 6-1 record since May 1st, with just one no-decision in which he had a quality start. After an April ERA of 6.15, Bailey turned it around a little bit and put up an ERA of 4.26 in May. That still was not a good ERA, but it was progress. So far in June he is pitching completely the opposite of how he pitched in April, as his ERA in this month is 2.57. The turnaround and rapid progression for Bailey is impressive, and hopefully for the Reds’ sake he can keep going in the right direction for the rest of the year.
Bailey is not pitching up to the expectations of his contract just yet, but he is on track to possibly be good enough to deserve the contract he has. If this improvement continues throughout the season, Bailey could be one of the top pitchers in the league by the end of the year. Bailey has really gotten on a roll recently, and he is looking more and more like the Homer Bailey that threw two no-hitters. With Bailey’s improvement, the Reds could look to him to be a top pitcher on their staff, and help try to get them back to the postseason. With the current standing of Cincinnati, Bailey could help them take the next step to jumping into playoff contention.
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