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| A tenth round selection of the Devil Rays in 2002, Hammel debuted with less than stellar results in the New York/Penn League |
Hey all, and welcome back for another edition of Treasure Hunting, the one place on the planet safe from discussion of this weekend’s Sopranos finale, and that’s only because it is still on the DVR waiting for me. So, anyone emailing in spoilers to me will be whacked.
This past Friday, we had another stud arm come up from the minors. There has been debate over which prospect was the best pitching prospect in the minors, and it had been Homer Bailey by default when Phil Hughes was promoted to the majors. Well, Bailey now joins him. How good will he be this season though? And is he even ready for the majors?
On the American League side of things, Jason Hammel has returned to the majors, where he was, well, let’s be nice, horrid for the Devil Rays in 2006. Just because he did not work out last year does not mean he won’t work out this year, does it? Let’s take a look.
Homer Bailey, Starting Pitcher, Cincinnati Reds
Everyone knows about the importance of high school football in Texas – heck, movies and popular NBC shows get made out of it – but not enough gets made of the significance of high school baseball in Texas. Thousands routinely show up for regular season games, and the fanatical fans in the Lone Star State are as rabid about baseball as they are football. And they should be with the way this state cranks out dominating power pitchers. Roger Clemens grew up wanting to be Nolan Ryan, and has passed Ryan in most people’s eyes. Now we have a group that grew up wanting to be Roger Clemens – Kerry Wood and Josh Beckett are two of the better-known from that group, although Scott Kazmir has surpassed Wood by now. And now the next generation, led by David Bailey.
Yep, David Bailey – at least that’s how he was drafted out of La Grange High School in Texas by the Cincinnati Reds with the seventh overall pick in the 2004 draft. Homer just happens to be a nickname he took from his great-grandfather, and it is a great baseball name, although not the best pick for a pitcher. In his 14 starts for La Grange in his senior year, Bailey was 14-0 with a 0.63 ERA, with 187 strikeouts and just 15 walks in 85 2/3 innings. With numbers like that, just making contact with one of his pitches had to be a success. Bailey would get into some nominal action with the Gulf Coast League Reds after signing, but his professional career would really pick up in earnest in 2005.
Spending the entire season with the Dayton Dragons in the Midwest League, Bailey would make 28 appearances, all but seven as a starter. His overall numbers were solid, but nothing really eye-popping. Bailey would post a record of 8-4 with a 4.43 ERA, and over 103 2/3 innings, Bailey struck out 125 and walked 62. Solid across the board, especially a year removed from high school, but nothing too gaudy. No, those would come in 2006.
The 2006 season would kick off for Bailey in the Florida State League, and he would make 13 starts for Sarasota before moving up the ranks. In his time in the FSL, Bailey was 3-5 with a 3.31 ERA, striking out 79 while walking just 22 in 70 2/3 innings. Pleased with his performance in the FSL, the Reds would promote Bailey to Double-A Chattanooga, and he posted his best numbers to date, going 7-1 with a 1.59 ERA in 13 starts, with 77 strikeouts and 28 walks in 68 innings, and he posted his fewest homers to date, allowing just one.
While it looked like Bailey might be given a chance to break camp with the big league club – after all, it’s not like they have a rotation filled with Cy Young candidates – but the Reds did not want to rush him. So, he would open the season in Triple-A, and his performance there said that rushing him was not going to be a problem – he was already ready. In his ten starts with the Louisville Bats, Bailey went 6-1 with a 2.31 ERA, striking out 51 while walking 24, and he held opposing batters to a .191 batting average. Not bad numbers at all.
And that brings us to this past Friday, where Bailey made his major league debut against the Cleveland Indians. It was not an overwhelming success, as he did struggle with his control and need 114 pitches to make it through just five innings, but he did get his major league debut out of the way, and he did so with a win. In his five, he allowed five hits, four walks, and two earned runs, and he struck out three.
What can we expect from here? He is still very young, and expecting some struggles out of him as a rookie would be a must even without factoring in his age. He will be a dominating, front of the rotation starter soon enough, but he might not be the best bet for this year.
Jason Hammel, Starting Pitcher/Relief Pitcher, Tampa Bay Devil Rays
A tenth round selection of the Devil Rays in 2002, Hammel debuted with less than stellar results in the New York/Penn League. In 13 appearances, 10 as a starter, Hammel would go 1-5 with a 5.23 ERA, with a 38:14 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 51 2/3 innings. Not exactly the most promising of debuts, but the Rays saw something worthy of a promotion. So he would open 2003 with him pitching in the South Atlantic League, and he would make 14 appearances there, 12 as a starter, and he would post much better results this time around, going 6-2 with a 3.40 ERA. His control numbers were still not great, though, with 50 strikeouts and 27 walks in 76 2/3 innings. A broken wrist would shorten his time, so a return to the Sally League was in store for 2004.
His 2004 performance would be significantly better, as he was 4-7 with a 3.23 ERA in 18 starts, with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 88:27 over 94 2/3 innings. This would earn him a trip across the country to the California League, and he would finish the year with Bakersfield. There, his results were excellent, as he was 6-2 with a 1.89 ERA, and his K/BB ratio was a very solid 65:20 in 71 1/3 innings.
Those numbers would get him moved up the ranks again, as he would kick off 2005 in the Double-A Southern League with the Montgomery Biscuits. His numbers continued to impress, as he was 8-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 12 starts, three of which were complete, and he would strike out 76 while walking 19 in 81 1/3 innings. Hammel also did an excellent job keeping the ball in the park, with the just five homers allowed.
He would finish the year in Triple-A, though, and things would start to get bumpy. In his ten starts with the Durham Bulls in 2005, Hammel was 3-2 with a 4.12 ERA, striking out 48 and walking 27 in 54 2/3 innings.
2006 would be spent between Triple-A and the majors, and the results in both were not exactly pretty. In Triple-A, he was 5-9 with a 4.23 ERA in 24 starts, but at least his control numbers were solid, as he struck out 117 and walked 36 in 127 2/3 innings. In the bigs though, his record was bad, his ERA was bad, and his control was bad – nothing at all went right. Overall, he was 0-6 with a 7.77 ERA, striking out 32 and walking 21 in 44 innings.
And that brings us to this year, where he opened the season in Triple-A. He has made 13 starts so far this year with the Bulls, and he has a record of 4-5 with a 3.42 ERA. Over 76 1/3 innings, Hammel has 75 strikeouts and 28 walks, and he is holding opposing batters to a .216 batting average. Two of his starts were complete, one a shutout. That’s not to say all has been rosy for Hammel though, as just three of his last ten starts have seen him last past six innings, and four saw him leave before he completed six.
Now, he is in the majors, and, for now, is part of the Rays’ bullpen. The pen certainly needs the help, but he could potentially end up back in the rotation. Will he succeed this time around where he failed last time? Well, his control numbers in the minors have always been strong, but his inability to show staying power in starts in Triple-A this year is clearly an issue. He could work out as a solid short-inning reliever, especially with his control and ability to keep the ball in the park, and that may be all he can do.
Last Week Revisited
Last week, we looked at Andy Sonnanstine and Brad Hennessey. Well, Sonnanstine pitched a gem on Sunday, striking out ten, including a club record seven in a row. Through two starts and fourteen innings, Sonnanstine has yet to walk a batter.
As for Hennessey, he did convert his only save opportunity of the past week, and he still has the closer’s role, but there is still very little reason to think that he is going to be a long term option for the Giants.
That’s all from me – see you next week for more Treasure Hunting!
Have a question or comment for Mark? Email him at markhaverty@sportsgrumblings.com
