Monday, June 12 is the MLB Draft. Who were the best players taken with the first overall pick in the 2000s?
Tomorrow, on June 12, the MLB Draft will begin. We will have a live thread that evening here at Call to the Pen with instant analysis of the selections from our own Benjamin Chase throughout the first night.
As we prepare for the draft, here is the schedule for some draft information to get you ready for the big day when the MLB draft kicks off next Monday night:
Monday, June 5 – A look at the #5 picks of the 2000s
Tuesday, June 6 – A look at the #4 picks of the 2000s
Wednesday, June 7 – Mock Draft 6.1
Thursday, June 8 – A look at the #3 picks of the 2000s
Friday, June 9 – A look at the #2 picks of the 2000s
Saturday, June 10 – A look at the #1 picks of the 2000s
Sunday, June 11 – Final Mock Draft: What Ben Would Do
Monday, June 12 – Live Draft Thread!
2001. Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota Twins, 50.8 bWAR
In a draft that turned out to be one of the better first rounds, the Twins nabbed the best #1 pick of the millennium, at least thus far, by sticking with the home town boy.
Mauer was from St. Paul, Minnesota and recruited heavily to play both baseball and football at Florida State before going to the Twins. In his draft season, he showed the type of bat skills he had, hitting .400/.492/.491 with the Twins’ advanced rookie level team. Baseball America ranked him the #7 overall prospect in the game after that season.
Mauer spent his first full professional season with Quad Cities in the low-A Midwest League, where he hit .302/.393/.392 with 23 doubles and an impressive 61/42 BB/K ratio. He jumped up a few notches in BA’s rankings to #4.
In 2003, Mauer split his season almost evenly between high-A and AA, combining to hit .338/.398/.434 with 30 doubles as a 20 year old. His impressive play moved him up all the way to the #1 prospect in BA’s list.
Mauer struggled with injuries in 2004, but he still showed enough to earn a 35-game audition with the big league team, where he impressed with a .308/.369/.570 line, keeping him as the #1 prospect in the game with BA.
Mauer took over the Twins starting catcher duties in 2005, and his bat was arguably the best that’s ever appeared behind the plate, in terms of pure contact ability. In 2013, it was announced that, after 3 seasons where Mauer had struggled to stay on the field due to injuries and concussions received at the catching position, he’d be moving to first base.
Mauer was considered among the elite in the game throughout his time behind the plate, selected to six All Star games (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013), winning 3 Gold Gloves (2008-2010), and winning 5 Silver Slugger Awards (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013). His best season by far was 2009, when he won the “slash line triple crown”, leading the league in batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage on the season. He was selected the MVP that season.
Over his career, Mauer has hit .308/.390/.444 with 134 home runs, and he should cross the 2,000 hit plateau very soon. To realize how rare that 2009 slash line triple crown truly is, in the last 50 years, it has only been done 9 times by 8 players.