Joe Mauer and Jesse Crain honored by Twins

MINNEAPOLIS -- Two of the Twins' rising stars earned big honors from their organization on Friday. Catcher Joe Mauer was given the 2003 Sherry Robertson Award as the Twins' Minor League Player of the Year, and right-handed pitcher Jesse Crain has been named the 2003 Jim Rantz Award winner as the Twins' Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Both Mauer and Crain, along with 2002 Rantz winner J.D. Durbin, are in Arizona this month trying to earn spots on Team USA for November's 2004 Olympic qualifier in Panama.

Crain learned that the Twins were honoring him on Thursday morning. The call came while he was still sleeping, at 7 a.m. Arizona time. "I was really excited," he said. "It was a good wake-up call."

Mauer, a 20-year-old St. Paul native and the overall No. 1 draft pick in 2001, batted a combined .338 with five homers and 85 RBIs with Single-A Fort Myers and Double-A New Britain. His average was the best of any minor-league catcher and all minor leaguers under 21.

"He not only handles the everyday pressures of the game, but the extra stuff that comes with it," said Rantz, the Twins' minor-league director, last month. "When you're the No. 1 pick, there are extra eyes on you. He's handled it in a very mature and professional manner."

Last month, Baseball America and SportsTicker honored Mauer with their Minor League Player of the Year awards.

"It's pretty neat," said Mauer. "I had a pretty good year last year, and to earn all these awards has been pretty cool."

Mauer was a Florida State League All-Star while helping Fort Myers to a 44-26 first-half mark and a division title. After Mauer was promoted to New Britain, the Rock Cats improved from 12 games below .500 to 48-31. The record earned the Rock Cats a wild-card berth in the Eastern League playoffs.

Crain, a 22-year-old reliever, earned two promotions this season, climbing from high Single-A Fort Myers to Triple-A Rochester. Between all three stops, he was 6-3 with a 1.93 ERA, 19 saves and 114 strikeouts. A Toronto native, Crain was the Twins' second-round pick in 2002 out of the University of Houston. His fastball velocity is in the mid- to high 90s, and is mixed with an 88-mph slider and curveball, with the occasional changeup.

After spending just the first month of the season in Fort Myers, going 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA, Crain landed at New Britain. With the Rock Cats, he was 1-1 with a 0.69 ERA and nine saves. It was there he earned the Twins' minor-league Pitcher of the Month honors in June. While in college, Crain was a shortstop and Houston's closer. This season was the first full year he was able to concentrate on being a reliever. It's helped him improve as a pitcher even more.

I'm not mentally drained in the ninth inning after already playing a whole game [at shortstop]," he said. "I got to watch the games, see how it's going and prepare. I have a lot of confidence and try to do what I can do."

Team USA will announce its 24-man roster for the trip to Panama City on Tuesday. Mauer and Crain are enjoying their experience in the desert this month and have been playing games against teams from the Arizona Fall League.

"It's been really fun so far," said Crain. "We have a really good team. Hopefully, I can make the final cuts and go to Panama."

Expos manager Frank Robinson is the skipper for Team USA. Mauer said that he's learned a lot from Robinson and the coaching staff.

"He's a nice guy and fun to be around," said Mauer. "He's the guy to play for as long as you work hard and do the little things."