By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

At the end of his first draft day, Leland Maddox beamed with satisfaction.

"I'm happy. I'm ecstatic," the Reds' assistant general manager/director of scouting said.

"Not only for myself but for the scouts and everybody. They've done a great job."

Looking to bolster the quantity and quality of arms in their farm system, the Reds and their revamped scouting department went heavy on pitching during the first 20 rounds of the amateur draft Tuesday.

Among the 10 pitchers they selected, nine played in college this season.

"We need an influx of good college pitching," Maddox said. "I think sometimes the high school pitching is fool's gold. You can hit on it.

"But we just felt like we were going to take the safer route to help the Reds in the future."

Cincinnati's first pick (14th overall) was Ryan Wagner from the University of Houston.

The right-hander, rated as the 18th-best prospect in the draft according to Baseball America, is 6-5 with a 2.06 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 74 1/3 innings this season.

"It's a great feeling," said Wagner, who throws a 91-93 mph fastball and has a nasty slider.

"Cincinnati is a great organization. Hopefully I'll have a chance to make an impact right away."

The Reds cannot begin negotiations with Wagner until his team is done playing.

Houston plays Rice this weekend for the chance to advance to the College World Series.

Signability is not expected to be an issue.

"He's resilient. He's intelligent," Maddox said. "Physically he's got a great mound presence. His stuff is dominating."

Though Wagner has done nothing but pitch in relief at Houston, Maddox said he could become a No. 2 or 3 starter at some point.

Wagner is one of three pitchers the Reds drafted on Day 1 who Maddox feels soon could make an impact as starters.

The Reds took Princeton University right-hander Thomas Pauly in the second round (51st overall) and Ohio University right-hander Marc Cornell in the fifth round (141st overall).

Cornell had been rated as high as 15th overall but experienced shoulder and elbow soreness late in the season. He was 7-3 with a 3.84 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings.

Sandwiched between Pauly and Cornell were a pair of high school players:

• Infielder Jose Ronda from Puerto Rico (third round, 81st overall);

• and center fielder Kenneth Lewis (fourth round, 111st overall) from Danville, Va.

Reds draft choices

1 - Ryan Wagner, RHP, University of Houston (Yoakum, Texas)

2 - Thomas Pauly, RHP, Princeton University (Atlantic Beach, Fla.)

3 - Jose Ronda, IF, Gabriela Mistral High (San Juan, P.R.)

4 - Kenneth Lewis, OF, George Washington High (Danville, Va.)

5 - Marc Cornell, RHP, Ohio University (Columbus)

6 - Richard Gardner, RHP, University of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.)

7 - Jose Guevara, RHP, St. Mary's University (San Antonio)

8 - Damian Ursin, RHP, Southern University (Gramercy, La.)

9 - Benjamin Himes, OF, Oklahoma City University (Austin, Texas)

10 - Andrew D'Alessio, IF, Barron G. Collier High (Naples, Fla.)

11 - Blake Hendley, RHP, Oklahoma City University (Oklahoma City)

12 - James Paduch, RHP, Concordia University (Elmwood Park, Ill.)

13 - Gray Matthew, OF, Butler County C.C. (Overland Park, Kan.)

14 - Marcus Townsend, OF, Southern University (Missouri City, Texas)

15 - Joseph Batten, OF, Telfair High (McRae, Ga.)

16 - Christopher Dickerson, OF, University of Nevada-Reno (Reno, Nev.)

17 - Brock Till, RHP, Bradley University (Lewiston, Ill.)

18 - Kyle Smith, OF, Houston Baptist University (Houston)

19 - Charles Benoit, LHP, Carroll High (Southlake, Texas)

20 - Dennis Dixon, OF, San Leandro High (San Leandro, Calif.)