For Kearns, prime should be now

Austin Kearns was advertised as a superstar in waiting when he turned up in the Washington Nationals’ lineup in July 2006.

So for 1½ long seasons, the Nationals have been waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting some more.

Now, as the Nats seek to move upward and onward in the National League East, the question no longer is when Kearns will blossom.

The question is if — and how much longer this ambitious organization can afford to twiddle its corporate thumbs where the right fielder is concerned.

With the likes of Lastings Milledge, Wily Mo Pena, Elijah Dukes and several talented minor league outfielders around, manager Manny Acta might not give Kearns forever to produce (although Austin is strong defensively and running the bases).

“The early expectations on him were very high, like 40 home runs and 100 RBI [a season],” Acta said last night, shaking his head sadly. “But Austin has a great makeup, and he never let those expectations bother him. He can be great on offense, and we can win with him.”

Or so Manny hopes.

Kearns indeed looks as if stardom should be his. He’s impressively built at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, handsome enough to melt female hearts galore and, at 27, should be in the prime of his career.

But if he is, the unfunny joke is on Nats general manager Jim Bowden, who drafted Kearns out of high school in Lexington, Ky., when Bowden was running the Cincinnati Reds in 1998 and then traded five Washington players to land Kearns, equally disappointing shortstop Felix Lopez and pitcher Ryan Wagner in July 2006.

Kearns is not a bad hitter, you understand, just depressingly average. With the Nats, he has batted .270 with 24 home runs and 114 RBI over 233 games, hardly the kind of numbers associated with greatness.

In Cincinnati, he was hailed as a worthy addition to Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn when he made his debut in the Show. In his first 107 games with the Reds, Kearns batted .315. Then mediocrity set in with a resounding thump. Hampered by frequent injuries, he hit .264, 230 and .240 in his last three partial seasons before the big trade sent him eastward.

Part of the problem, his remaining advocates say, is that cavernous RFK Stadium turned many of his better belts into loud outs (Kearns batted .228 there in 2007). The club’s more intimate digs at Nationals Park are supposed to help increase his power numbers significantly, but the start of a new season has brought no dramatic upswing, if you’ll pardon the pun. Over the Nats’ first nine games, Kearns has batted .230 with no home runs and four RBI.

Last night, facing left-hander Scott Olsen of the visiting Florida Marlins in the second inning, Kearns grounded to third with Nick Johnson on second and none out rather than going to the right side and at least advancing the runner. The next time up, with runners at first and third and two out, he swung at the first pitch and flied to center.

Two at-bats, three runners stranded. Does that sound much too familiar?

Kearns isn’t much help at self-analysis.

“No, I’m not frustrated,” he insisted before last night’s game. “I don’t like to put up numbers [as a goal] because then it’s easy to be satisfied. All you can do is go out there every day and try to be consistent.”

That’s one thing. Being consistently good is something else again.

Hitting coach Lenny Harris has expectations — there’s that dratted word again — that Kearns will continue his progress in the second half of last season, when he led the offensively challenged Nats with 11 homers, 40 walks and a .390 on-base percentage.

“He’s still learning,” Harris said, “but he’s staying on top of the ball, driving it better and being more aggressive at the plate. He’s advanced much higher, and he’s capable of being one of the best [hitters] around.”

Yet talk, unlike most things these days, is cheap. Ultimately, everything will be up to Kearns himself, as it should be.

It’s time to shine — well past time, in fact.