SARASOTA, Fla. — On the mound, Ty Howington looks like the guy who can rise to the top of the Reds' rotation. He's 6-foot-5, 225 pounds and his fastball touches 95 mph.

        Behind the wheel is another thing. Most players tool around in a big SUV or a pricy sedan. And Howington? He drives a 1990 Dodge Spirit.

        “Got it for less than a grand,” he said. “It's too far to drive my car from home. I just keep it down here. One of the clubhouse guys takes care of it when I'm not here.”

        Howington grew up in a working-class family in Vancouver, Wash. The Reds like his attitude as much as his fastball.

        “You put his stuff together with his makeup and work ethic, and you're going to see one of the top young pitchers,” said Reds assistant general manager Doc Rodgers.

        The Reds have been trying to stockpile young pitchers for the past couple of years. Howington is the best of a good class of prospects. He's had that reputation since he put on a Reds uniform.

        Adam Dunn remembers the first time he saw Howington throw. It was during the Instructional League in 1999. Dunn and Austin Kearns, the top picks from 1998, were getting ready to face Howington, the No.1 pick from '99.

        “We were saying, "This kid is unbelievable,'” Dunn said. “He just had tremendous stuff. Nobody got a hit off him. He's good, man.”

        It's three years later, and Howington, a 21-year-old left-hander, has done nothing to change anyone's mind in the Reds organization about his potential.

        “He can be a No.1 starter,” Rodgers said. “He's got the built-in advantage of being left-handed, and he's got the built-in advantage of having a power arm.”

        The power arm allows Howington to throw consistently in the low 90s and occasionally up to 95. His arm is among the best in the Reds camp.

        “We've got a lot of good arms,” pitching coach Don Gullett said. “But he's right up there. You can see he's the guy we picked No.1 a few years back.”

        “He's got a special arm — a really live fastball,” Reds manager Bob Boone said.

        The question is: How soon can Howington help on the major-league level?

        “That's really up to him,” Rodgers said. “It's like Adam Dunn last year. It's up to the player. Dunn played his way into the major leagues.”

        Howington could pitch his way into the picture with a tremendous spring. But, if he's dominant here, it doesn't automatically mean he comes north with the team.

        “It won't seal the deal,” Rodgers said. “Spring training is spring training.”

        One school of thought suggests Howington might benefit more from spending a year in the majors, even if he gets beat around a little, as opposed to dominating again in the minors.

        The Reds did just that with Chris Reitsma last year. He made the team based on a great spring. He had a rough year — 7-15, 5.29 ERA — but the Reds think he's a better pitcher for it.

        “It's a long shot,” Boone said of Howington's chances. “We're just going to watch for awhile and make decisions somewhere near the end.”

        If Howington has a vote, it'll be for the bigs.

        “I think everyone's choice in that one would be the major leagues,” he said. “Being there is great. I think you need to take your licks some time. Some guys take their licks in the minor leagues. To me, it would be exciting to be there in front of 30,000, 20,000 people.”

        Howington was the top pick in 1999. He was 12-3 and struck out 149 batters in 84 innings as a senior at Hudson High in Vancouver. He didn't sign with the Reds until late August.

        He showed enough in the Instructional League that the Reds started him in 2000 at Single-A Dayton. Howington struggled to a 5-15 record with a 5.27 ERA. He made every start, but after the season, his left elbow started hurting.

        An MRI showed bone chips, and Howington underwent arthroscopic surgery on March3.

        “I have no idea when I got them,” he said. “They didn't bother me until the offseason. There's a lot of things that could have happened five years ago. We got them out of there, and the elbow's been great since.”

        The surgery turned out to come at a perfect time. The Reds were concerned with Howington's mechanics from the time they drafted him, and tinkered with them some in Dayton in '99.

        “While I was down here (in Sarasota) rehabbing, I didn't do anything but work on my mechanics,” he said. “Taking the time to work on my mechanics and nothing else was a big factor.

        “That repetition really helps. It's really hard to change your mechanics in the middle of the season. It was: No season, no pitching, just go do it.”

        The Reds turned the new Howington loose on Dayton in mid-May. The change was apparent from the start. He went 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA in seven starts at Dayton. He moved up to Mudville and went 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA in seven starts there. He ended the season at Double-A Chattanooga. He was 1-3 there with a 3.27 ERA.

        Howington also was more comfortable with himself and the pressure which comes with being a No.1 pick.

        “I don't feel pressure,” he said. “In 2000, I did. I don't know why I did. But now, I've learned. You don't worry about that stuff. I learned that in the middle of my first year.”

        The maturity, the repaired elbow and new mechanics showed in Howington's 2001 results. Overall, he was 8-5 with a 2.30 ERA in the three stops. He allowed only 94 hits and struck out 128 in 117 1/3 innings.

        “It was really gratifying to do so well,” he said. “I was having so much fun last year. When you lose, it's tough. You don't have the fun you do when you're winning. It was my personal expectations that I didn't meet my first year. I set goals for myself. The year before, I didn't have goals.”

        Howington has also developed a change-up as his third pitch. It's surpassed his curveball as his second-best pitch.

        “He's maturing,” Gullett said. “His mechanics have to continue to get better. He has to learn more about situations and about himself. He's got major league stuff — no question.”

        The question is how soon will we see that stuff in the majors.

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