Twins' Joe Mauer Named Player, Teenager of Year by SportsTicker

BOSTON (Ticker) -- Plenty of expectations come with being the top overall pick in the draft, especially when you are chosen ahead of a current major league star like Mark Prior. But catcher Joe Mauer has met or surpassed all of them since being picked No. 1 by the Minnesota Twins in 2001.

"Wherever we've put him, from the rookie league to low A to high A, he's been up to the challenge," said Twins director of player development Jim Rantz. "He's put the numbers up and he's made progress."

Mauer, honored as SportsTicker's 2003 Minor League Player and Teenager of the Year, has achieved a feat only two others have since the inception of the awards.

The St. Paul, Minnesota native, who was the first high school catcher chosen as the top pick in the draft since the Chicago White Sox took Danny Goodwin first in 1971, joins Andruw Jones (1995, 1996) and Rick Ankiel (1999) as the only players to earn both honors in the same season.

Playing among the most talented crop of minor league catchers in recent memory, Mauer has distanced himself from the pack with a brand of two-way play rarely seen.

"He's an offensive player but also just as good a defensive one," Rantz said. "He's got some great skills behind the dish as far as throwing and receiving and blocking. He's the complete catcher that we're looking for."

In time split between the advanced Class A and Class AA levels, Mauer led all minor league catchers with a .338 batting average and threw out an amazing 52 percent of attempting basestealers before teams all but stopped running on him. He also did not commit an error until June and was charged with just three miscues all season.

"I learned a lot this year," said Mauer, whose brothers Jake and Bill also play for the organization. "I just had a good time playing wherever I was at. It was a good year overall."

Named to SportsTicker's All-Teen Team last year after hitting .302 with 62 RBI in the low-level Class A Midwest League, Mauer was 19 when he began this season in the Florida State League - making him eligible for teen honors.

Mauer wasted little time before taking the league by storm. After batting .289 in April for the Fort Myers Miracle, he hit at a torrid .360 clip with 27 RBI in May. He then posted a .348 mark through 12 games in June, warranting a promotion to the Eastern League.

In mid-June, Mauer joined a New Britain Rock Cats club that was 12 games under .500 and in need of someone to provide offensive punch, resurrect a struggling pitching staff and be a leader both on and off the field. Despite his youth, Mauer proved he could manage each of those roles.

"He turned the whole team around when he got here," Rock Cats manager Stan Cliburn said. "His presence in the clubhouse, the air of confidence he carries himself with - it uplifted the whole team."

Following Mauer's arrival, the Rock Cats went 15-3 in the first 18 games to reach the .500 mark. The pitching staff, saddled with a 5.05 ERA through the season's first two months, suddenly rolled off 20 consecutive quality starts.

"(I was) a little bit nervous at first," Mauer said of his promotion. "I didn't really know the guys that well. But I also brought up two pitchers (Jim Abbott and J.D. Durbin) from the Fort Myers team that I played with my whole career, so I felt real comfortable with those two guys."

The lefthanded-hitting Mauer also took over the reigns as the team's batting star. When the team's top hitter, Josh Rabe, was promoted to Class AAA in mid-July, Mauer claimed the third spot in the batting order.

"What really was outstanding was his hitting," Cliburn said. "I thought he'd struggle against better pitching in Double-A."

Instead, Mauer was named his league's Player of the Month in July, his first full month at the Class AA level. He produced 14 multi-hit games en route to a .402 average with 11 doubles, 14 RBI and 17 runs scored.

The 6-4, 220-pound Mauer hit .312 with 20 RBI in August to lead the Rock Cats into the playoffs, where the team fell one win shy of reaching the finals. Commanding the respect of the opposition, Mauer was walked intentionally three times in the five-game series.

For the season, Mauer produced 85 RBI with as many walks as strikeouts (74) between the two stops. The now 20-year-old has knocked in 161 runs, batted .330 and taken 28 more walks (129) than strikeouts (101) through 1,177 career plate appearances.

Mauer became the first Twins player to claim an individual postseason award since SportsTicker began handing out honors nearly a decade ago.

Past SportsTicker Minor League Player of the Year winners include:

2002 -- Rocco Baldelli, OF, Devil Rays
2001 -- Adam Dunn, OF, Reds
2000 -- Alex Cabrera, 1B, Diamondbacks
1999 -- Rick Ankiel, LHP, Cardinals
1998 -- Troy Glaus, 3B, Angels
1997 -- Paul Konerko, 3B, Dodgers
1996 -- Andruw Jones, OF, Braves
1995 -- Andruw Jones, OF, Braves
1994 -- Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees

Previous SportsTicker Minor League Teenager of the Year winners include:

2002 -- Jose Reyes, SS, Mets
2001 -- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, Marlins
2000 -- Josh Hamilton, OF, Devil Rays
1999 -- Rick Ankiel, LHP, Cardinals
1998 -- Rick Ankiel, LHP, Cardinals
1997 -- Adrian Beltre, 3B, Dodgers
1996 -- Andruw Jones, OF, Braves
1995 -- Andruw Jones, OF, Braves