By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The feel-good fairy tale will end. Ryan Wagner doesn't know when or where or how, but he's certain adversity will introduce itself before too long.

"It's only a matter of time before something is going to go wrong," the 21-year-old Reds relief pitcher said. "Something is not going to go my way, but that's baseball.

"That's why I love the game, because you just never know what is going to happen."

When Cincinnati chose Wagner out of the University of Houston with the 14th overall pick in June, and then signed him to a $1.4-million bonus, expectations were that he might get a September call-up.

But July 19th? After nine appearances totaling nine innings at Double-A and Triple-A?

Keep dreaming.

"When I was 21 years old, I didn't have a clue," Reds' reliever John Riedling said. "As of right now, I tell you what, he's been unbelievable."

Nobody could've expected Wagner to hang with baseball's elite, to retire 20 of the first 21 batters he faced and hold a 0.00 ERA.

But that's exactly what Wagner had accomplished before Giants catcher Benito Santiago and first baseman Andres Galarraga hit solo homers in Wagner's sixth relief appearance Saturday.

"He hasn't looked like a fish out of water," Reds pitching coach Don Gullett said. "He's been up to the challenge with every situation he's been in thus far.

"He's shown me a lot of poise for a young individual to come up and throw strikes and not be fearful of throwing the ball over the plate."

On the day he was promoted from Louisville, Wagner became the only Reds' first-rounder to be drafted and make his major league debut in the same season.

Against an Astros club he cheered for as a youth, the Yoakum, Texas, native displayed to 41,772 fans at Great American Ball Park how afraid he is to throw the ball over the plate.

"You can't be scared," he said. "If you go in there scared, that's when you get beat."

Wagner retired all five batters he faced, including veteran sluggers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell, and earned a standing ovation as he walked off the field after 1 2/3 innings.

"Since the first outing I've become a lot more comfortable pitching-wise and a lot more comfortable in the bullpen, getting ready and preparing myself," Wagner said. "But that first time was kind of a whirlwind."

He relies on a fastball that touches the mid-90s, a wicked slider and flawless mechanics.

"I have not worked with him on any mechanics whatsoever," Gullett said. "The only thing we've tried to apply here is a game plan in regards to how we go about getting hitter's out."

Wagner gives credit for his no-hassle mechanics to his late pitching coach, Dr. Bragg Stockton.

The two met when Wagner was a freshman at Houston. Stockton was working as a volunteer.

"I came in there and mechanically I was just completely out there," said Wagner, who threw four no-hitters in high school with those out-of-whack mechanics. "Pretty much everything I could've been doing wrong to my body mechanically was incorrect. He helped straighten all of that out."

Stockton died in January, months before Wagner's final season at Houston began.

He went 6-5 with a 1.93 ERA and broke a 39-year-old NCAA Division I record with 16.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

In 79 1/3 innings, he struck out 148 batters and saved a school record 15 games.

"You always think you can make it to the major leagues," Wagner said, "but it's always easier said than done."

Or is it?

In nine innings split between Chattanooga and Louisville, Wagner went 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA, 10 strikeouts and two walks.

"He just goes out there and isn't timid," said Riedling, who spent more than six seasons in the minors before making his major league debut in 2000. "You see guys play a lot of years in the minor leagues and they come up and they don't have the makeup. That's the one thing with this guy: this guy has great makeup."

Rising rookie

Through his first six major league appearances, Reds rookie relief pitcher Ryan Wagner is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA and has held opponents to a .115 batting average. Here's a look at how he's fared:

DATE	OPP	IP	H	HR	ER	K	BB
July 19	Astros	1.2	0	0	0	0	1
July 22	Brewers	2.0	1	0	0	4	0
July 24	Pirates	0.2	0	0	0	0	0
July 29	Rockies	0.2	0	0	0	1	0
July 31	Rockies	1.0	0	0	0	1	0
Aug. 2	Giants	2.0	2	2	2	1	0
SEASON	TOTALS:	8.0	3	2	2	7	1