By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Where some spend a season or two developing their skills, Reds' pitching prospect Ryan Wagner barely had time to unpack.

The Reds, based on the promotion of their first-round draft pick from Double-A Chattanooga to Triple-A Louisville Thursday, appear intent on proving that Wagner is close to being big-league ready.

The 14th overall pick in last month's draft was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and six strikeouts in five innings with Chattanooga.

"He showed in a brief amount of innings that he's got the stuff to move up," said Tim Naehring, Reds director of player personnel.

"People in our front office feel it's a nice little move to challenge him and also helps us get a little closer to achieving our goal of developing young arms."

The Reds signed Wagner, a dominant reliever in college, to a $1.4 million contract June 13. Second-round pick Thomas Pauly was 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA after two starts at Single-A Dayton.

"A lot of those guys (at Triple-A) are professional-type hitters," Naehring said. "It will be good for him to get in an environment that is a little bit closer to the major-league type with the travel and the different cities and play against other guys that have put up some decent numbers at the major-league level."

ANOTHER ARM: With the elbow and shoulder problems behind him, Single-A Potomac pitcher Ty Howington is beginning to have success again.

The 22-year-old lefty, whom the Reds took in the first round of the 1999 draft, is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 15 strikeouts in his past two starts, which have covered 11 innings.

"I think he's more relaxed and his arm is getting stronger," Naehring said. "The velocity and life on his fastball seem to be coming back.

"If we could finish this year with Howington being promoted and allow him to have some success, he puts himself right back into the mix."

P.O.W.: Louisville infielder Jim Chamblee was named the International League's player of the week for games played June 23-29.

Chamblee batted .556 with a double, two triples, a home run and 6 RBI in seven games.

ODDS AND ENDS: Chattanooga outfielder Dernell Stenson was selected by Southern League managers to start at designated hitter in the league's All-Star game Tuesday ... Potomac infielder Edwin Encarnacion and pitcher Daylan Childress were named the Carolina League's batter and pitcher of the week for a period ending July 2. Encarnacion hit .314 through his first 44 games. Childress went 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA in June.