By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Less than two weeks remain before the amateur draft, and the Reds are busy narrowing their list of prospective choices.

Cincinnati has the 14th overall pick in the first round of the June 3-5 draft.

"The talent pool is not as strong this year," Reds assistant general manager and director of scouting Leland Maddox said. "You're going to see a lot of players who would be second- or third-rounders in previous years go in the first round."

Among those the Reds are interested in are five high school players - two pitchers, three infielders - and Ohio University pitcher Marc Cornell.

Cincinnati hasn't selected a college player with its first pick since Brandon Larson went 14th overall in 1997.

Of the five high school players, all are ranked in the top 50 by Baseball America. Cornell was rated the 17th-best collegiate prospect.

John Danks, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound right-hander from Round Rock, Texas, was rated No. 5. Jeff Allison, a 6-2, 195-pound right-hander from Peabody, Mass., was No. 8, followed by third baseman Ian Stewart (No. 11) from California, third baseman Eric Duncan (No. 34) from New Jersey and third baseman/catcher Miguel Vega (No. 48) from Arroyo, Puerto Rico.

Though the club has more money to work with this season, signability remains a concern for any club.

"We have enough money to pay our guys, where in the past it could've played a major role," Maddox said Thursday.

"We want to give fair money to somebody that wants to play."

RECORD BREAKER: Larson, who was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on April 20, broke the Bats' career home run record May 18.

The third baseman passed Kevin Barker by hitting his sixth homer in 20 games.

Barker set the previous mark (46) during the 1998-99 seasons when the Bats were an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Larson was hitting .303 with six homers and 16 RBI through his first 23 games with Louisville this season.

MULTIDIMENSIONAL: Double-A Chattanooga pitcher Dustin Moseley hit a grand slam against the Tennessee Smokies in a 17-6 win May 16. It was his second homer in 32 at-bats.

Moseley also picked up the victory by allowing two runs on seven hits over six innings.

ODDS AND ENDS: The Lookouts had won 11 of their past 13 games entering Friday. . . . Louisville pitcher Pete Harnisch was placed on the disabled list May 18 with a strained left hamstring.

The right-hander is 0-3 with a 9.12 ERA in six starts covering 24 2/3 innings.  . . Louisville pitcher Joey Hamilton improved his record to 3-0 Wednesday.