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Homer Bailey, the Cincinnati Reds uber pitching prospect, still isn’t pitching in Cincinnati. But he’s tearing up Triple-A hitters. Harang, Arroyo, Cueto and Volquez seem pretty safe right now, but Matt Belisle needs to show Dusty Baker that he deserves that 5th rotation spot more than Bailey.

If that happens, Bailey may be promoted to the big leagues and used in a relief role.

“I haven’t thought of him as anything other than a starter,” Jocketty said. “I haven’t really talked to anybody about that.”

Bailey, a 21-year-old right-hander, is doing what he’s done the last three years: Dominating in the minors. He’s 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA for Triple-A Louisville.

Jocketty brought up Adam Wainwright in St. Louis as a reliever. Wainwright went 2-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 61 relief appearances in 2006. Last year, he was 14-12 with a 3.70 ERA as a starter.

Jocketty said there becomes a point when a pitcher has little to prove in the minors.

“When a guy continues to do well at that level, yeah,” Jocketty said. “There are some things they had him working on. From what I understand, he’s done well with what they’ve asked him.

26-year-old Detroit Tiger pitcher, Armando Galarraga saw his first Major league action last week and impressed with a 6.2 inning outing where he only gave up one hit, two earned runs and had six strikeouts. He got the win that day and looks as if he’ll do it again today.

The Tigers are ahead of the Blue Jays 5-0 in the 7th right now and Galarraga threw 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball. He gave up three hits, walked four and struck out four. If things hold up for him, once the game is final, Galarraga will be 2-0.

Galarraga was promoted last week to fill in for Dontrelle Willis, and anyone pitching in the potent Detroit lineup should be given some consideration. But remember that he hasn’t pitched too much above AA. He also missed a good portion of 2006 with shoulder problems. So, even though Galarraga is showing promise right now, his track record isn’t established enough to push him into the must sign category.

In AL-Only leagues you should surely look to sign him. For this short-term stint, he looks to be ready to perform. But, signing him in hopes that he’ll continue like this, or even continue in the rotation all year, is wishful thinking. You can also look at him in very deep mixed leagues right now. But only as a fill in and surely not as one of your top 5 starters. Don’t throw a lot of eggs in Armando’s basket just yet.

Lefty outfielder John Bowker saw Major League action for the first time in his career Saturday for the San Francisco Giants, and promptly went 2-3 with a home run. Then for an encore he wet 2-3 with another home run on Sunday. Not bad for the 24-year-old. His consecutive game home run streak ended at two when he went 2-4 with only a triple on Tuesday.

Bowker has come out of the gates red hot. Last season in 139 games at Double-A Connecticut, he batted .307 with 22 home runs and 37 doubles. This kid can hit, and his power keeps developing every year. With Randy Winn and Fred Lewis around, Bowker might not be around to stay, not just yet. But if his performances stay relatively close to this level, the Giants will have to find a spot for him.

Bowker is surely worth an add in NL-only fantasy baseball leagues, and he should be on your mixed-league radar as well.

Lou here again.  Matt from Fantasy Insider Online is having difficulties logging in and asked me post this for him.  Enjoy!

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Earlier in the week, I took part in a fantasy draft that involved a whole slew of heavy hitters in the industry and which will be printed in a fantasy magazine to come out in January.  I know, I know… early, right?  The 2007 season ended just under a month ago, and already (with a lot of top free agents still out on the market) we are trying to look ahead to ’08.  Nevertheless, considering that the ’07 season was still fresh in everyone’s mind, it may help to explain something that went down during the draft that I thought to be a bit out of the ordinary. 

With the 11^th pick in the 1^st Round, NL Rookie of the Year and Milwaukee 3B Ryan Braun was taken off of the board.  Please, do not get me wrong – Braun was an absolute beast this past season and posted up per game fantasy numbers very similar to those of fantasy monster Alex Rodriguez.  However, how much stock can you really put in a player with just one year of experience in the majors, let alone one year of statistical information to base your pick off of?  Solely based off of last season, there is no doubt that Braun is worthy of a 1^st Round selection, however, at such a deep position with so many exceptional AND experienced 3B options for this coming year, I would rather play the law of averages. 

Can Braun duplicate (or even come close to) his .324 BA, 34 HR and near 100 RBI in 2008?  The ball is up in the air.  Yet, this led me to take a look at the trends of past Rookie of the Year winners and how they performed in their sophomore seasons.  Most recently, we can go back only one year to see two cases in which players kept things headed in the right direction during their second years.  Both Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez and Tigers SP Justin Verlander (ROY winners from 2006) improved across the board from 2006 to 2007 – with Ramirez having an absolute monster year.  It is practically inconceivable for this year’s NL ROY, Braun, to better any of his 2007 numbers next year, however, much like Verlander, he could stay consistent and improve in some areas. 

Recently, many players (both hitters and pitchers) have either stayed consistent or done better in the following season after being crowned Rookie of the Year.  Players like Ryan Howard and Jason Bay, both who are that big-hit type player similar to Braun, have improved in their sophomore seasons.  Nevertheless, past ROY winners like Eric Hinske, Angel Berroa, and even Dontrelle Willis to an extent, show that a solid follow-up year to a stellar rookie campaign is not a lock. 

In the end, I would rather take a seasoned veteran with a few years of statistical backing which would warrant him a 1^st Round pick rather than basing that draft selection off of one outstanding season.  Would I love to have Braun on my fantasy teams in 2008?  Without a doubt.  Playing in a very suspect NL Central division, hitting in a lineup with up and coming stars like Prince Fielder, J.J. Hardy and Corey Hart, Braun definitely has the opportunity to keep the ball rolling into 2008 and beyond.  Yet, to me, a 1^st Round selection does not seem right to me, and I tend to see Braun as a solid 3^rd or 4^th Round option.  When it’s all said and done, however, consistent trends from seasoned players will help me sleep a little bit easier at night.

Not only has top prospect,[tag]Jarrod Saltalamaccia[/tag], hit 2 home runs tonight against the Nationals, but he’s playing first base for the fourth time this season. One more appearance at [tag]first base[/tag] (a position of weakness for the [tag]Atlanta Braves[/tag]) will qualify him at first base for eligibility purposes on Yahoo.

It’s been rumored throughout the Braves camp for the past month or so that Bobby Cox plans to work Salty into at least a part time role at first base. With Scott Thorman hitting below .230 for the season, if Salty keeps hitting like this he’s likely to see more games out in the field, instead of behind the plate.

For those of you waiting to see [tag]Yovani Gallardo[/tag] pitch in his first big league game prior to signing him… you’re too late. The [tag]Milwaukee Brewers[/tag] rookie call-up is most likely gone in every format. For those of you who selected him early, congratulations. Gallardo switched speeds between a low to mid 90’s fastball and a low 80 MPH changeup to work over hitters and earn his first major league win. The first of what fantasy owners hope is many.

His 4:3 k:bb ratio will get better, and I might argue that Gallardo should not of come in to start the 7th inning. But, a win is a win. Especially when it’s your first game in the bigs.

The news of [tag]Tim Lincecum[/tag], the most anticipated rookie starter since Matt Cain, came in Thursday from the [tag]San Francisco Giants[/tag] camp. Following a 4-0 start in AAA Fresno where he sported a 0.29 ERA, a 46:11 k:bb ratio and has given up only 12 hits in 31 innings, Lincecum will get his first major league start Sunday evening, on national television, no less.

Lincecum is ranked 11th on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects report where he draws comparisons to “Bullet” Bob Feller and Sandy Koufax.