ST. LOUIS — It's easy to figure that Chris Reitsma should someday emerge as the ace of the Reds' starting rotation. Reitsma himself would like that. Just don't rush him.

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        In many ways, Reitsma (4-6) is the Reds' top starter right now, though Elmer Dessens (5-4) leads the staff in victories. Reitsma's 4.12 ERA is the best among the starters. So is his total of nine “quality starts” — outings of six innings or more with three runs or fewer allowed.

        But Reitsma's also a rookie, albeit the most experienced and accomplished one among the four first-year pitchers in the s rotation. When he faces the St. Louis Cardinals in tonight's opener of a two-game series at Busch Stadium, he could pitch impressively into the eighth inning, as he has done in three of his previous four starts. Or he might not make it past the fifth inning, which has happened four times in his 15 starts this year.

        Reitsma is edging toward the spotlight that a true ace occupies. He needs a little more time to adjust to the glare. If pitching's an art, he's still an artist's apprentice.

        “I really would love that responsibility,” Reitsma said, his voice thick with intensity, when asked about being a staff leader. “I feel like I have the ability and can compete at that level and be a front-line guy. But you need some experience and it takes a couple of years. There's no replacement for time.”

        There's also no replacement in the Reds' organization for Reitsma, who quickly has become one of the franchise's most valuable assets. His fellow rookies in the rotation, Brian Reith, Lance Davis and Jose Acevedo, have been hurried to the majors by the injuries (Pete Harnisch) and ineffectiveness (Osvaldo Fernandez) that have plagued thes rotation. Rob Bell departed for Texas in a June 15 trade. Left-hander Ty Howington, the minor-league system's top pitching prospect, needs at least another year of experience.

        Given the Reds' small-market payroll, which prevents them from adding talented free agents, and thin ranks of pitching prospects in the high minors, Reitsma is the pitching staff's best hope for the near future.

        “He has all the ingredients to be a very good pitcher, which we feel he is right now. But he's going to get better with experience,” said Reds pitching coach Don Gullett, who distributes praise sparingly.

        Fortunately for the Reds, Reitsma doesn't seem to consider progress as a given. Complacency isn't likely to send his career to the showers.

        “I want to take it start by start. Hopefully I'll be here in the next five days,” he said. “That's the way I'm looking at it. I still have a lot to prove and a lot to learn.”

        Reitsma displayed an ace's aptitude when he bested New York's Al Leiter in a 1-0 game April 14 and left Randy Johnson's 20-strikeout game with a 1-1 tie after eight innings on May 8 at Arizona. Yet Reitsma's resume also shows that he's 23 and never pitched above Double-A before this year.

        “I feel like a young pup,” he said. “I'm just trying to take everything I can from other people. With Pete (Harnisch) hanging around, I can pick his brain a lot. He's been great for me. I don't feel like a veteran. Not even close.”

        Yet Reitsma often resembles a veteran on the mound, which partly accounts for all this “ace” talk.

        “He has shown us the ability to spot his fastball and throw a change-up at any time in the count,” Gullett said. “And his curveball is very good when he (throws) it right.”

        If expectations have begun to weigh upon Reitsma, he hasn't shown it. “I don't think he puts any pressure on himself to carry the load,” Gullett said. Surviving two broken elbows has helped the right-hander sustain poise through on-field adversity — another trait of an ace.

        “It's easy to get caught up in this game. The job controls your life in a lot of ways. But it's not life,” Reitsma said. “That's one thing I try to keep in mind when I get worked up or too excited. I think to myself, just make your pitches, get it done, and that's what you have to do.”

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