On Saturday night, Adrian Gonzalez attended his senior prom. The following day, he boarded a flight to Miami, where Monday he was selected by the Florida Marlins as the first player in the annual amateur draft.

Gonzalez's draft standing had resembled a hit single, aimed straight for No. 1.

	The Marlins called Adrian Gonzalez "the best hitting prospect available in this year's draft."

Talk about your overnight sensation. By now, Gonzalez is accustomed to things happening quickly.

The Marlins, however, are convinced that there's nothing make-believe about Gonzalez's talent. This is no one-hit wonder.

"For a young player," Marlins scouting director Al Avila said, "he has quite a bit of experience and leadership qualities. He's a tough, determined and hard-working guy. For us, it was a clear picture that we selected the best player in this year's draft."

The Marlins may have indeed been convinced of their choice, but there was precious little consensus among the majority of teams, making this year's draft even more unpredictable than most.

The lack of unanimity also reduced Gonzalez's bargaining power some, which was fine by the Marlins, who like most clubs were striving to keep signing bonuses reined in after the staggering jumps of recent years.

Signability -- a buzzword this June in the wake of a seminar held for scouting directors last month in which they were encouraged to hold the economic line -- was never an issue with Gonzalez.

The Marlins' initial offer to agent John Boggs was $2.5 million. When they boosted it to $3 million with their second proposal, the negotiations were complete.

"Early on," said Boggs, "the main thing the family told me was, no matter where Adrian was drafted, they wanted him to start his career quickly. They didn't want things to drag out."

Boggs' directive, coupled with the Marlins' desire to contain costs, made for a quick agreement. The $3 million bonus was nearly $1 million less than the Tampa Bay Devil Rays spent on the No. 1 pick last June, high school outfielder Josh Hamilton, and a whopping $4 million less than the Marlins gave Texas high school pitcher Josh Beckett, the No. 2 overall selection last summer.

"Three million is nothing to sneeze at," emphasized Boggs. "It's the third highest signing bonus for a high school player in the draft. And if he's the player he thinks he is, he's not going to have any problem making a lot more money."

Gonzalez took batting practice with the rest of the Marlins before Florida's game with Boston at Pro Player Stadium. With camera crews recording his every swing, Gonzalez struggled in his first round of cuts.

By his second turn in the cage, he was rocketing balls around and even managed to hit two into the seats in right-center.

"I was pretty nervous at first," a sheepish Gonzalez said. "But I got a little more comfortable."

Growing up outside of San Diego, Gonzalez naturally idolizes Padres legend Tony Gwynn and hopes to wear No. 19 in tribute. But as a first baseman, he patterns himself after Rafael Palmeiro at the plate, and has nicked Palmeiro's habit of lifting his front leg as he strides into the ball.

"I can't be a (singles and doubles) hitter at first base," Gonzalez said. "(Gwynn) can live off that. I've got to produce runs."

First, Gonzalez will have to learn to hit with a wooden bat. He'd had some experience with one in the Area Code Games and in workouts for scouts in recent months.

Then, he'll need to work on his ability to pull the ball.

"I've always been an opposite-field hitter," he said. "I feel pretty comfortable going the other way. This year, I started to turn on the ball, but I need to get better."

Gonzalez will be assigned to Melbourne of the Gulf Coast League to begin his assimilation to pro ball. He hopes to return to Miami, for good, "in a couple of years. It's everything I've ever dreamed about, and I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen."

The Marlins have to hope that he'll fare better than some of their other No. 1 picks. Josh Booty, their first choice in 1994, has resumed his football career at LSU and Jaime Jones, their 1995 selection, is a bust in Double A.

"He projects to a power hitter at first base who can drive in a lot of runs," Marlins GM Dave Dombrowski said. "He's a leader on the field and he can swing the bat."

If Gonzalez can do all those things at the major league level, then, and only then, will the fairy tale be complete.