Mauer on track for first taste of majors in 2004

CHICAGO - Joe Mauer estimated that, daily, he does at least one interview and signs hundreds of autographs as the No. 1 overall draft pick of 2001.

Things weren't much different Sunday, when reporters surrounded him before the All-Star Futures Game at U.S. Cellular Field. Mauer, property of the Twins, was the starting catcher for the U.S. team.

Reporters wanted to know if he eventually will hit for power as well as for average. Mauer recently hit his first Class AA minor league homer after 23 games.

"That's one of the things I'm working on," said Mauer, a prep standout at Cretin-Derham Hall. "But that's when I get myself in trouble, when I try to pull those outside pitches. I'm working on my pitch selection."

Reporters also wanted to know if his first month in Class AA has been a tough adjustment.

"Every level you go up, there are bigger and stronger players," Mauer said. "The game moves a little faster. It took me a while to get adjusted, but I'm starting to feel more comfortable."

And one reporter wanted to know if Mauer, who turned 20 in April, was getting a September call-up to the majors.

"I have no idea," Mauer said. "I'm just happy to be here and playing in the Futures Game."

He has handled the hype as well as minor league pitching, and it's no longer far-fetched to expect Mauer to make his major league debut with the Twins in the near future.

"I think you could see him up there sometime during next year," said Jim Rantz, the Twins' director of minor leagues. "He's holding his own there."

The jump from Class A to Class AA is considered the toughest. But in 23 games at New Britain, Mauer is batting .337 with a homer and 13 RBI. In 227 minor league games overall, his average is .327.

Defensively, Mauer threw out 65 percent of runners attempting to steal before his promotion to New Britain.

"I don't think there's going to be a challenge he won't be able to handle," Twins scouting director Mike Radcliff said. "His makeup is just right."

Teammates have been impressed with him as well.

"It's the best thing in baseball right now [with him]," said pitcher J.D. Durbin, Mauer's teammate at New Britain and also a Futures All-Star. "His presence back there and his knowledge is terrific. He makes my job a lot easier."

Former White Sox and Red Sox catching great Carlton Fisk, who managed the U.S. team Sunday, said Mauer's ability was evident in a 3-2 victory over the World team, even in just the few innings he played.

"You could tell he's not afraid," Fisk said. "He's aware and he knows he has a lot to learn. But he has all the attributes. I looked at how he called the game. I didn't call any pitches, and neither did my coaching staff."

The Futures Game is a platform for nearly ready prospects, another indication that Mauer -- who went 0-for-2 -- is progressing in his second full season as a professional.

Last year's game was filled with players who have since made their major league debuts -- such as the Twins' Michael Restovich and Justin Morneau. Others, such as Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford, Philadelphia's Marlon Byrd, Cleveland's Brandon Phillips and Toronto's Orlando Hudson, began this year in the majors.

No one is expecting Mauer to make the Twins next year out of spring training, but Racliff agrees with Rantz's assessment that Mauer could be aiming for the baggie in the Metrodome -- like he did in high school -- sometime in 2004.

"He's made improvements in all the supplementary things of the game," Radcliff said. "The leadership, the situational hitting, the way he handles himself on the field. Everyone can see that he can hit and he can throw. There's no question he can make it when they see all the other stuff coming together."