Brandon Bailey's inspirational rehab continues to yield positive results post-surgery

If you don't follow Cincinnati Reds pitcher Brandon Bailey on social media, you're missing a tremendous opportunity. While Bailey has yet to throw in a game this season, his rehab from Tommy John surgery is inspirational.

I should mention that this is Bailey's second Tommy John surgery. Bailey torn the UCL in his right elbow between his junior and senior year in high school which required surgery and forced Broomfield High School product to miss his senior season.

Shortly after the new year, Bailey took to Twitter to announce that for the first time in 450 days he had eclipsed 90 mph on the radar gun. That may not have seemed like a big feat to most fans, but watching the video will show you how emotional that moment was for Bailey.

Reds RHP Brandon Bailey is now hitting 97 mph on the radar gun.

Now, the 27-year-old is touching 97 mph on the radar gun and averaging between 95-97 mph on his fastball. Brandon Bailey said that until yesterday, the hardest he'd evert thrown was 95 mph.

Bailey was originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the sixth-round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Bailey was then traded to the Houston Astros after the 2017 season in the deal that sent Ramon Laureano to the Bay Area.

In November of 2020, Brandon Bailey was traded from Houston to Cincinnati. The right-hander was expected to compete for a spot in the Reds bullpen, but in February of last year, Bailey underwent Tommy John surgery for a second time.

The Cincinnati Reds removed Bailey from the 40-man roster last winter, but re-signed him shortly after he was non-tendered. Bailey is currently on the Louisville Bats roster, but is still rehabbing from his surgery.

From the sound of things, it appears that we'll see Brandon Bailey back on the mound in a professional game very soon. The Cincinnati Reds need all the help they can get, and it'll be quite the story when Bailey is able to return to the big leagues.