By John Fay
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Terry Reynolds thinks it will be a pitcher. The Reds' scouting director isn't basing that on what the club needs so much as the way the draft stacks up.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Sunday's game

"My guess is it will be a pitcher just because there are so many quality pitchers on the board," he said.

The Reds pick seventh in today's annual amateur draft. Five of the top seven players in Baseball America's ratings are pitchers, as well as 11 of the top 15.

With the seventh pick, the Reds have to see how things sort out above them.

"That's what everything hinges on," Reynolds said. "We're concentrating on three or four names. But we've got to see how it clears above us."

Baseball America's mock draft had the Reds taking Matt Bush, a high school shortstop from San Diego.

But the San Diego Padres scouted Bush on Friday, according to San Diego Union-Tribune.

Reynolds wouldn't give any names, but he did say Bush is on the Reds' list.

The top pitchers on Baseball America's list are Jered Weaver, a right-hander from Long Beach State; Rice right-handers Jeff Niemann, Philip Humber and Wade Townsend; Texas high school right-hander Homer Bailey; Old Dominion right-hander Justin Verlander; and Vanderbilt left-hander Jeremy Sowers.

The Reds drafted Sowers in 2001, but he didn't sign.

The top three position players are all shortstops - Stephen Drew from Florida State, Chris Nelson, a high school player from Redan, Ga., and Bush.

Reynolds said Moeller High pitcher Andrew Brackman and Miami University's power-hitting first baseman Mike Ferris are on the Reds board.

"They're both good players," he said. "With Brackman, you have the two-sport issue."

Brackman is set to go to North Carolina State to play basketball. Ferris is projected to go in the middle of the first round.

The Reds' second pick is the 48th pick (there are supplemental picks between the first and second rounds), then they'll have the 78th, 108th and so on. The draft lasts 50 rounds, although few clubs draft 50 players.

BET ON BONG: It looks like Jung Keun Bong, a left-hander obtained in the Chris Reitsma trade, will start for the Reds Tuesday in Oakland.

Bong was scheduled to start for Triple-A Louisville Sunday, but Jesus Sanchez started instead.

Bong was 4-4 with a 4.89 ERA in 10 starts for the Bats.

Bong, 23, went 6-2 with a 5.05 ERA for Atlanta last year. All 41 of his appearances were in relief. The Reds converted him back to a starter after the trade.

ONE MORE DAY: Outfielder Austin Kearns and shortstop Barry Larkin were out of the lineup again Sunday.

Larkin has a pulled abdominal muscle. Kearns is still dealing with the sore on his thumb.

Larkin has missed three starts. He did pinch-hit in all three games. His single Sunday was key to the Reds' 6-5 win over the Expos.

Kearns has missed eight starts. He has pinch hit once in that span. Kearns took his most extensive batting practice session Sunday.

"It felt good," Kearns said.

Both are expected to be available to play tonight when the Reds open a three-game series in Oakland. The A's have left-handers Mark Mulder and Barry Zito going in the first two games. Larkin and Kearns hit right-handed.

BOX OFFICE SMASH: The Reds drew 105,060 for the three-game series with the Expos. That included a walk-up figure of 33,101.

The Reds are averaging 26,742 per home game.

FARM REPORT: Right-hander Chris Booker threw two innings of one-hit ball in Double-A Chattanooga's 4-0 victory over Huntsville. Booker has a 0.79 ERA over 11 2/3 innings. He has struck out 17 and allowed only eight hits.

REDS FACT: The team has the best home record (18-10) in the NL, having won six of eight series at home.

Reds statistics

(Through Sunday's game)

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Casey	.377	.419	215	43	81	20	1	10	42	15	19	1	0	1
Castro	.298	.337	84	11	25	6	1	1	9	5	17	0	0	4
Larkin	.291	.333	189	33	55	8	2	3	20	13	25	2	0	1
Pena	.265	.324	68	7	18	2	1	4	9	5	29	1	0	1
Larson	.261	.346	46	6	12	3	0	1	5	5	8	0	0	5
Dunn	.254	.426	177	37	45	8	0	17	37	50	72	2	0	2
Cruz	.250	.365	44	8	11	3	0	1	8	8	16	0	0	0
Jimenez	.250	.357	208	27	52	10	2	3	21	34	32	5	5	4
Griffey	.249	.359	197	34	49	12	0	17	47	32	44	1	0	0
Freel	.237	.328	169	22	40	5	5	1	8	16	27	8	3	7
LaRue	.198	.323	111	11	22	7	0	1	12	13	29	0	1	5
Kearns	.195	.327	87	10	17	2	1	3	13	16	30	1	1	1
Hummel	.182	.222	33	1	6	1	0	0	4	2	5	0	0	1
Valentin	.156	.202	77	7	12	3	0	3	8	5	10	0	0	3
Lopez	.111	.111	18	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	2
Team Totals	.247	.340	1859	264	460	93	13	65	248	236	442	21	10	39

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Riedling	4	0	1.50	26	0	0	30.0	17	8	5	1	10	20
Matthews	1	0	2.35	10	0	0	7.2	7	3	2	2	3	3
Wilson	7	0	3.18	11	11	0	70.2	69	27	25	8	19	39
Graves	1	3	3.27	33	0	26	33.0	32	17	12	9	4	21
Jones	4	1	4.09	29	0	1	33.0	28	16	15	2	15	26
Norton	0	0	4.19	23	0	0	19.1	19	10	9	2	9	9
Acevedo	3	4	4.26	11	11	0	67.2	66	33	32	12	14	58
Lidle	4	4	4.42	12	12	0	79.1	78	40	39	10	15	43
Van Poppel	2	2	4.43	12	6	0	44.2	48	22	22	3	9	28
Harang	4	2	5.43	11	11	0	59.2	79	37	36	7	22	44
Reith	2	1	5.91	19	0	0	21.1	22	14	14	4	15	21
Valentine	0	1	27.00	1	1	0	1.0	2	3	3	0	5	0
Team Totals	34	22	4.36	56	56	27	497.0	519	260	241	66	158	329

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E-mail jfay@enquirer.com