By Ross Johnson

Sports Writer

It’s been a busy year for catcher Luke Bailey.

Bailey had a terrific senior season for the Troup Tigers that resulted in him being named the LaGrange Daily News player of the year, he had Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow in April, he was drafted in the fourth round by the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in June, and he has spent the better part of six months rehabbing from the injury.

The worst part of this busy year obviously was the injury, but there is good news on that front.

He was cleared to swing the bat a few months ago, and he’s making a lot of progress on his throwing arm as well.

Bailey, who was a designated hitter for an instructional league team a few months ago, will continue his rehabilitation before heading back to Port Charlotte, Fla., in March to continue his quest to one day reach the big leagues.

“I talked to Dr. (James) Andrews, and he said I was two months ahead of schedule,” Bailey said. “It’s healing really well.”

Bailey returned home near the end of October from the instructional league and has been working out at Troup High under the coaches he’s known for years.

He works closely with assistant coach Jamie Schmitt, who has been amping up the workouts as Bailey gets stronger.

With spring training upcoming, Bailey is excited about the prospect of being at full strength.

“I’m throwing up to 120 feet now, which is pretty good,” Bailey said. “When I get down (to Port Charlotte), they’re going to decide where they want me to go.”

Bailey, like all minor league players, doesn’t know where his next assignment will me.

Bailey said his best-case scenario is to end up in the the New York Penn League.

“(The Rays) have a lot of teams in their organization,” Bailey said. “The New York Penn League is the high-level rookie ball, and the other teams are in lower classifications.”

Already, Bailey has shown why the Rays took him fairly high in the draft, even though he was coming off major surgery at the time.

Bailey was one of the top catcher prospects in the country, and before the injury he was projected as a possible first-round draft pick.

In a five-week, instructional league training session that featured “mostly rookies,” he had a .400 batting average, including a perfect 4-for-4 outing in just his second game.

“I feel very comfortable out there,” Bailey said. “I feel like I belong.”

Bailey has looked comfortable wherever he’s played, whether it’s in high school, for his travel-ball team, or for his country in an international tournament.

Bailey has always hit - he owns single-season school records for home runs (13), RBIs (60) and doubles (17) - and he has always been a defensive stalwart with his cannon for a right arm.

“(Bailey’s) got everything you want in a player,” Troup head baseball coach Craig Garner said. “They look at receiving, throwing and batting abilities in a catcher, and he’s got all three.”

Garner also said that, despite Bailey’s superstar status in high school, he never let the attention change him, and that he was also a superb teammate.

“He’s a hard worker and humble,” Garner said. “You can’t go wrong with Luke Bailey.”

Bailey said things really aren’t that different in the pros than they were in high school.

Even some of the drills are the same, such as a defensive drill he took part in during the instructional league.

“It’s called ‘27 outs,’ but it was called ‘21 outs,’ at Troup,” Bailey said. “I just thought, ‘Wow, I’m in pro ball now.’ It’s something I’m getting used to.”