Austin Kearns is one of those kids who makes you feel like you're old and wish that you weren't. He's a 21-year-old prodigy whose quick batting stroke cleaves nothing but a sweet future.

        Yet Kearns hasn't quite grown into his face — think Opie at college graduation — and he's still young enough his dad is buying him clothes.

        “I've got a trunk-full of stuff out there right now,” Dan Kearns said after the game Saturday: Six dress shirts, four pairs of pants, a blue blazer. “He needs to change his dress code. Get rid of the T-shirts and jeans.”

        And yet ...

Austin Kearns sits at home plate after getting hit by a pitch Saturday. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        “He's the most professional hitter I've got right now,” Bob Boone said, for the second time in three days. Boone has Barry Larkin, Sean Casey, his kid Aaron, Juan Encarnacion.

        “(Kearns) gives me a professional at-bat every time,” Boone said.

        He's making it look ridiculously easy. Austin Kearns was in Double A a month ago; now, he's hitting cleanup, .410 and curveballs. On Saturday, he popped a rainbow-high home run that grazed the green level facing in left field, his fourth homer in 61 at-bats. The only thing he fouls off is praise.

        “I'm comfortable here, because everyone has made me feel that way,” Kearns said, and now we're getting our Boy Wonders confused. Wasn't Adam Dunn the Wonder just a few days ago?

        Dan Kearns recalls a high school game in which his son pitched a no-hitter and hit two home runs. Dan missed the game. Afterward, he asked Austin about it.

        “How was the game?” Dan wondered.

        “Good,” Austin decided.

        Isn't that just how it is with Boy Wonders? Isn't that just the way?

        Boone recalled watching Kearns in spring training batting practice, grouped with Encarnacion and Ruben Mateo. Those two used BP as a muscle-flex. Next to them, Kearns hit like Olive Oyl. “They're hitting the ball all over the place. Kearns is just working on his stroke,” Boone recalled. “He's not getting caught up in the moment, trying to impress anyone.”

        He has been that way since his recall April17. Kearns' burr-head is so level, you could bowl on it. “They told me when I got here to treat it the same,” Kearns said. “It's still baseball. You can't go up there thinking, Oh, my gosh, these guys are big-leaguers, I'm overmatched. If you don't believe you belong here, you probably won't be too successful.”

        “I wouldn't have thought he'd be this mature this fast,” Boone said. Who would have? Marilyn Monroe didn't mature this fast.

        The baseball junkie was interested Saturday, to see how Kearns would do against St. Louis starter Darryl Kile. Kile throws a curveball that makes left turns. Rookie hitters shouldn't do much with a Kile curve.

        Kearns stayed in the game against Kile, going 0-for-2 and having Kile hit him with a full- count curve. But he didn't appear fooled. “I needed to see it a few times. It breaks like 5 feet,” Kearns said. “But I did OK.”

        There will be a time, maybe soon, when the pitchers will catch up with Kearns. When they'll figure him out. Then we will learn a lot more about Austin Kearns. Nobody not named Ted hits .400 very long.

        But for the moment, it is one sweet ride.

        “He's unusual,” said Boone. “(Barry) Bonds got there at 21. Junior (Griffey) was doing the same thing at 19.”

        Bonds, Griffey ... Kearns is in that class?

        “Absolutely,” said Boone. “There's nothing he has to work on. When he matures, he's not going to miss those pitches he's fouling off.”

        And maybe he'll dress better, too. Dan Kearns would like that.

       Contact Paul Daugherty at 768-8454; e-mail: pdaugherty@enquirer.com.

Reds 8, Cardinals 1 Reds box, runs Reds Q&A with John Fay DAUGHERTY: Austin's swinging has fans drooling Miller hits first, explains later Notes: At-bats getting better for Boone Cinergy Countdown No. 28: Sept. 1, 1997 Down on the farm Reds chatter Louisville 4, Syracuse 3 Baseball History - You could look it up Hermansen taking what might be last shot with Pirates MLB notebook NL roundup AL roundup John Fay's MLB power rankings Notes from Saturday's games

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Saturday's results

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