PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Chris Reitsma's numbers from his first outing of the spring weren't very impressive. He went 1 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three hits in a 6-4 loss to the Texas Rangers in a “B” game here.

        But the Reds were impressed by some other numbers from Reitsma. He was consistently hitting 92, 93 mph on the radar gun.

        “When he made the team last spring, he was throwing 88, 90,” Reds assistant general manager Doc Rodgers said.

        Reitsma, the 24-year-old right-hander, wasn't surprised by the radar readings.

        “I've worked very hard,” he said. “This is the strongest I've been. I think I can get more than that out of it. I wasn't really leaning on it today. I'll probably get up to 95. That's my goal. It's early. The arm strength isn't all the way there yet.”

        That's what Reitsma threw when the Boston Red Sox picked him in the first round of the 1996 draft.

        “He threw gas,” Rodgers said. “He had a power arm.”

        Reitsma went 3-1 with a 1.35 ERA in his first professional season, striking out 32 in 26 innings. He was putting up similar numbers in 1998 when he fractured his arm throwing a pitch. He missed half the season. He suffered a stress fracture while trying to come back the next year.

        The injuries took the zip off his fastball.

        “He had to learn how to pitch,” Rodgers said. “He developed his off-speed stuff and his command.”

        Reds manager Bob Boone calls Reitsma's change-up “a Mario Soto change-up.”

        That's high praise.

        If Reitsma can get his fastball in the mid-90s consistently, the Reds will have something. Of the three rookies who spent the majority of last season in the rotation, the Reds think Reitsma is the most likely to develop into a No.1 or 2 starter.

        “He's got an above-average change and curve,” Rodgers said. “If his fastball gets back to where it was, he's above average on all his pitches. That's what you want.”

        A year ago at this time, Reitsma was barely in the Reds' plans. When they acquired him in August 2000 in the Dante Bichette trade with the Red Sox, Reitsma had made only 14 starts above the Single-A level. But the Reds liked what they saw from him in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, where he went 2-0 with two saves and a 1.45 ERA.

        Then he pitched so well in spring training that he went from long shot to No.3 starter by the end of camp.

        Reitsma ended up 7-15 with a 5.29 ERA. He wore down as the season wore on. He was 4-6 with a 4.12 ERA on June 20. Reitsma ended up throwing 182 innings — almost 50 more than he had in any previous year.

        Reitsma feels like he's much better equipped for the long haul this year.

        “Last year, I had only six weeks at home because of the fall league,” he said. “This year, I had a full four months to work out. I had time to get a good base. I really concentrated. That makes all the difference in the world.”

        Reitsma is certainly one of the favorites to make the rotation this year. But he's looking at this spring as he did last year.

        “I'm trying to come in here and win a job,” he said. “I don't think it's a given at all. It's the same as last year: I'm trying to win a job.”

        That said, Reitsma wasn't overly concerned with Saturday's results.

        “It's the first time,” he said. “You can simulate all you want, but once you get in the game, it's different.”

        “He rushing,” pitching coach Don Gullett said. “As he gets more opportunities the command will come.”

        “Midway through spring training, you start looking for results,” Reitsma said. “That's when you get your bearings.”

Don't worry, we're happy, Reds assert Jr. one slugger who values health over homers Reds Q & A with John Fay Reitsma fastball showing some pop Rangers 4, Reds 3 Reds notebook Baseball notebook

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