Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
As the No. 2 starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Homer Bailey has turned it up in the month of May. He has won three of his last four starts and has two more winnable matchups this week. He will pitch against the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday and the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. If you own Bailey, start him in both games.
Bailey has won five of his last eight games and has gone at least six innings in seven of those games. His 5.04 ERA is nothing to worry about. He struggled in the beginning of the season, but has since relaxed. He posted a 4.50 ERA in his last four starts, skewed by a 3.2-inning/six earned run outing two weeks ago. In those last four starts, opponents are hitting just .261.
Bailey’s first opponent, the Giants have a .246 average and a .309 on-base percentage. The team has a lot of power and are scoring a lot, but there isn’t much else to the team. The low OBP hints that the team is swinging for the fences every at bat. Their 474 strikeouts (sixth in the league) tell the story.
The Phillies aren’t doing much better. They have a .242 average and .311 OBP. Unlike the Giants, the Phillies have very little power has well. The team has just 21 home runs and 205 RBI with 451 strikeouts (13th). In comparison, Edwin Encarnacion and Nelson Cruz have a combined 39 homers and 102 RBI.
Homer Bailey was disappointing early on in 2014. It looks like he has turned it around and will be the pitcher he was from 2013, which is why fantasy owners drafted him. Despite pitching at home, Bailey should come out of Week 10 with at least one win and a lower ERA.
Bill Pivetz is a fantasy sports writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @BPiv_Sports.
