Joe Mauer

[Rajah]

Saturday night I went to see the Kane County Cougars play the Quad City River Bandits. As some (maybe all, never know) of you know, Joe Mauer is the starting catcher for the River Bandits. For those of you who are unaware, Joe Mauer was the number 1 pick in last year's draft, a high school catcher from Minnesota.

That said, I just wanted to post my assessment of Joe Mauer. He looked good, really good. He was easily the best player on the field (not saying much - Kane County is dead last, and quad cities not much better). He played defense very well, I think he picked off a runner. His offense was very impressive. He was 3 for 5 (per my scoring - can't find an official box score), also reaching on an error. He hit a double as well. He doesn't have a great deal of power yet. Power enough to hit doubles, but only 2 home runs on the season. His hits were all deep into the outfield though. He also scored a few runs, and moved several guys into scoring position. I can't remember if he had any rbi's. Unfortunately, I don't have my scorecard with me.

My gut feeling: he'll develop more power with time, and the Twins dodged the first round high school catcher bullet. He should be in the majors in a few years and I don't see any reason why (barring injury of course) he won't have a very productive career.

Just found the official box score. Must have miss coded one (I was at the game with the family, sometimes had to rely on second hand accounts of what happened). Mauer only had 2 hits, plus a HBP. Lots of HBP in that game.
Here's his stats up to the game I was at:
Mauer, Joe,C .293ba 174ab 26r 51h 8db 0 2hr 27rbi 31bb 21so 0 0 .374slg .398obp 3errors

BTW, anyone have a minor league scouting notebook. I noticed that Kane County's 1b Jason Stokes is like the best hitter in the midwest league. anyone know anything about him? He looked a lot bigger than the rest of the players, so I suspect that he's older.

[SmedIndy]

I hope Mauer makes it. I was pleased when he chose the Twins.

[poorme]

From everything I've read about him, he's going to be a star. I think he's over the biggest hurdle. Should be in the bigs in 2-3 years.

[cubfan33]

Great analysis, CP -

You say he "picked off a runner." Could you give us some more details on this? Did he throw behind the guy at first or what were the circumstances? The dirt I've heard on Mauer has always been poor footwork, questionable arm, but good power if he can stay at catcher.

I think having Joe's older brother on the team with him is pure genius on the Twins part ... and I'm way down on the Twins as an organization so that's high praise.

Jason Stokes is not older than most, he's 20. While I don't know much about him, he was GREAT in HS ... another Texan! Hitting 350/410/540, he should be in Portland but Adrian Gonzalez is ahead of him in the Marlins 1B picture. There's bonus money in Gonzalez so he'll get every shot while Stokes may be trade bait if he keeps hitting.

[Rajah]

Like I said, I think there was a cs. I had a lot of distractions around me. I went with my mother and my stepfather and my 5 year old half brother. My mom couldn't quite grasp that I was trying to pay attention so I could keep score (around the 6th inning she figured it out for five minutes..."so, should I just talk to you between innings?) and my little brother was bouncing off the seats, guardrails, etc. So I'm not sure if there was one or not. I think there was. He did have a few attempts, both teams ran a lot.

Just to throw something out there in addition to Will's comment on Stokes. According to John Sickels, he was drafted based on his Mark McGwire power. However, he had back problems last year, and Sickels gave him a C+ grade, but added a comment that the grade "could go much higher, and quickly, if he is healthy and shows he can control the strike zone."

[Skip]

(sidebar) welcome Teufel. Hit the Icebreakers forum to warm us all up on you.

[Rajah]

Stokes stat line for the season was very nice.
Jason Stokes
Kane County
.367ba
44 games
158 at bats
26 r
58 h
11 hr
35 rbi

No info on strike outs or walks, but he does seem to be developing then. Looks like a good, though cautious, call by sickels.

[Rajah]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/columns/downo...m/1394876.html

Twins fans and those who like to follow high draft picks may be interested. Here's the quote:


Chris P. asks: How is Joe Mauer, the first overall pick in the '01 draft, doing? Was it a mistake for the Twins to take him instead of Mark Prior?


Mauer is doing well, hitting .313/.412/.409 so far at Class A Quad City. His power is just starting to develop, but his strike zone judgment is exceptional, and his defense behind the plate is very good. I tried to go see him myself earlier in the year, but the game I went to got rained out. I'll try again in a few weeks. Friends of mine who have seen him this year use words and phrases like "monster," "masher," "head and shoulders above the rest of the players on the field," and "man among boys" when discussing him.

The Twins didn't think they could afford Prior. Though Mauer was a Minnesota boy, choosing him was not just about signability and public relations: he was the best high school player available. He would likely have been the first player picked this year if he were a year younger, so the Twins have nothing to be ashamed of. High school catchers have horrible track records, of course, so Mauer has to fight history. But if any high school catcher can make it, it's him. His physical tools are excellent, his baseball skills are solid, he is a good athlete, he is smart, and he works hard.


<end quote>

This was basically my impression of him when I had the chance to see him play.