NEW YORK -- Joe Mauer, a slugging high school catcher with a strong arm, was taken by the Minnesota Twins with the No. 1 pick in Tuesday's baseball draft.

	Joe Mauer was a three-sport star at St. Paul Cretin-Derham High.

Mauer, a three-sport star from Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul, Minn., is the first catcher drafted with the top pick since Milwaukee took B.J. Surhoff in 1985.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Mauer was a standout in baseball, basketball and football, and intends to concentrate on playing baseball despite a scholarship to play quarterback at Florida State.

Mauer joined Danny Goodwin (Chicago White Sox, 1971) and David Clyde (Texas, 1973) as the only players to be chosen by their hometown teams with the No. 1 pick.

The Chicago Cubs selected Mark Prior, the Southern California right-hander considered by some to be the best college pitcher ever, with the second pick.

Prior, 14-1 with a 1.50 ERA, had a school and Pac-10 conference-record 189 strikeouts and just 17 walks in 131 2/3 innings for the College World Series-bound Trojans. Some scouts believe he could be an effective major league pitcher right now.

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Prior has a blazing fastball that reaches the mid- to high-90s, an excellent breaking ball and a solid curve. He was drafted by the New York Yankees with the 43rd pick in 1998, but opted to go to Vanderbilt. He transferred to USC after his freshman year and quickly established himself as one college baseball's most dominant pitchers.

Dewon Brazelton, a hard-throwing right-hander from Middle Tennessee State, was taken by Tampa Bay with the third overall pick.

Brazelton went from being an unknown pitcher to one of the best in college after outstanding summer with Team USA, going 6-0 with a team record-ERA of 0.65.

Philadelphia chose right-hander Gavin Floyd with the fourth pick. Floyd, from Mt. St. Joseph High School in Severna Park, Md., has a fastball that touches the mid-90s and sometimes gets up to 97 mph. Floyd also has an impressive, knee-buckling curve, among the best in the draft, and excellent command.

First-round high school catchers

The history of high school catchers taken in the first round is ... well, just check to see how many of these names you recognize, going back to selections made since 1970. 2000 Scott Heard (Rangers, 25th overall) 1999 Ryan Christianson (Mariners, 11th) 1997 Jayson Werth (Orioles, 22nd) 1995 Ben Davis (Padres, 2nd) 1994 Paul Konerko (Dodgers, 13th) Ramon Castro (Astros, 17th) Mark Johnson (White Sox, 26th) 1992 Jason Kendall (Pirates, 23rd) 1990 Mike Lieberthal (Phillies, 3rd) 1989 Tyler Houston (Braves, 3rd) Charles Johnson (Expos, 10th - did not sign) 1987 Bill Henderson (Tigers, 20th) 1986 Phil Clark (Tigers, 18th) 1985 Kurt Brown (White Sox, 5th) Trey McCall (Phillies, 16th) 1984 Erik Pappas (Angels, 6th) 1983 Matt Stark (Blue Jays, 9th) 1982 Ron Karkovice (White Sox, 14th) 1981 Kevin Burrell (Red Sox, 25th) 1980 Jeff Reed (Twins, 12th) Lebo Powell (Phillies, 13th) John Gibbons (Mets, 24th) 1979 Jay Schroeder (Blue Jays, 3rd) John Mizerock (Astros, 8th) Dan Lamar (Reds, 20th) Bob Geren (Padres, 24th) 1978 Bob Cummings (Giants, 7th) Nick Hernandez (Brewers, 8th) 1976 Tim Glass (Indians, 14th) Mike Scioscia (Dodgers, 19th) 1975 Butch Benton (Mets, 6th) Donald Young (Braves, 18th) 1974 Dale Murphy (Braves, 5th) 1973 Ted Farr (Dodgers, 18th) Steve Nicosia (Pirates, 24th) 1972 Bobby Goodman (Expos, 5th) Richard Bengstrom (Mets, 13th) Ken Thomas (Orioles, 24th) 1971 Danny Goodwin (White Sox, 1st - did not sign) 1970 Mike Ivie (Padres, 1st) Barry Foote (Expos, 3rd) Darrell Porter (Brewers, 4th) Rex Goodson (Royals, 8th) Terry Mapin (Tigers, 20th) James West (Orioles, 24th)

Mark Teixeira, the sweet-swinging Georgia Tech third baseman considered to be one of college baseball's greatest switch-hitters, was taken by Texas with the fifth pick.

Teixeira was sidelined for 10 weeks with a broken right ankle, but picked up where he left off as soon as he returned to the lineup last month.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Teixeira has hit for power and average everywhere he's swung a bat, including for Team USA last summer and in the Cape Cod League in past seasons. He is a good overall athlete who developed into a fine defensive third baseman.

The Montreal Expos took UCLA right-hander Josh Karp with the sixth pick. After an outstanding performance for Team USA last summer, Karp struggled with a nagging groin pull and his command. But his size and repertoire -- a fastball that hits the mid-90s, good curve and solid changeup -- have many believing he has the potential to become a dominant pro pitcher.

Baltimore went for Chris Smith, a left-hander from Cumberland University in Tennessee, who helped lead Florida State to the College World Series last season as an outfielder.

He wanted to hone his pitching skills, but Seminoles coach Mike Martin preferred Smith remain a position player. Smith had to settle on transferring to an NAIA school when Martin would not grant a release. He became one of the top left-handers in the country, and again showed his natural ability as a hitter (.414, 17, 67).

John VanBenschoten, a right-hander and first baseman from Kent State went to Pittsburgh with the eighth pick. He led the country with a school and Mid-America Conference-record 31 home runs. The conference player of the year also set school and conference records in hits (99), RBI (84), walks (55) and total bases (221), and led conference with eight saves.

Colt Griffin, a right-hander from Marshall High School in Texas, was taken with the ninth pick by Kansas City. He burst onto the scene when he threw a 100-mph pitch in front of dozens of scouts two months ago. Griffin was a first baseman and outfielder until this season, during which he struck out 110 in 59 innings.

Houston selected Tennessee infielder Chris Burke, the Southeastern Conference player of the year, with the 10th pick. He broke Todd Helton's school records for career hits, runs scored and doubles, and became the school's career leader in singles and triples. Burke is regarded as an ideal leadoff man.

Rice right-hander Kenny Baugh was drafted by the Detroit Tigers with the 11th pick. Baugh, drafted by Oakland in the fifth round last year, returned for his senior season and is just one of 10 Division I pitchers with at least 40 career victories (41) and 400 career innings pitched (460).

Next, the Milwaukee Brewers took right-hander Mike Jones from Thunderbird High School in Arizona. He is regarded as an outstanding athlete who has excellent mechanics, a smooth arm motion, and a fastball that hit the mid-90s.

Casey Kotchman, the son of Anaheim minor-league manager and scout Tom Kotchman, was selected by the Anaheim Angels with the 13th pick. The smooth-hitting left-hander is considered one of the best pure high school hitters in recent years and also has excellent defensive ability at first base.

Tulane third baseman Jake Gautreau was taken by the San Diego Padres with the 14th pick. Gautreau established himself as one of college baseball's top all-around hitters and led Division I with 91 RBI.

Auburn junior outfielder Gabe Gross went to the Toronto Blue Jays with the 15th pick. He concentrated solely on baseball after starting six games at quarterback for the Tigers as a freshman. Gross is a good all-around athlete who complements his natural power with good speed and a strong arm.

Kris Honel, a hard-throwing righty from Providence Catholic H.S. in New Lenox, Ill., was taken next by the Chicago White Sox with the 16th pick. The Cleveland Indians selected right-hander Dan Denham from Deer Valley H.S. in Antioch, Calif., with the 17th pick.

The New York Mets took Notre Dame right-hander Aaron Heilman with the 18th pick. Heilman was drafted by Minnesota with 31st pick last year, but went back to school where he went 15-0 and led Irish to their first No. 1 ranking. He also set Big East records for career victories, strikeouts and complete games and joined exclusive 40-victory, 400-innings pitched club.

Next, the Baltimore Orioles selected Louisiana State's Mike Fontenot, who followed in the footsteps of Todd Walker and Warren Morris as an outstanding second baseman for the Tigers. Left-hander Jeremy Sowers, from Ballard H.S. in Louisville, Ky., was the 20th pick by the Cincinnati Reds.

Next, Youngstown State right-hander Brad Hennessey went to the San Francisco Giants. The Arizona Diamondbacks chose Valdosta State right-hander Jason Bulger with the 22nd pick. Florida State outfielder John-Ford Griffin went to the New York Yankees at No. 23. Left-hander Macay McBride, from Screven County H.S. in Sylvania, Ga., was selected next by the Atlanta Braves.

With back-to-back picks, the Oakland Athletics took Long Beach State shortstop Bobby Crosby and high school right-hander Jeremy Bonderman. Bonderman is a high school junior who declared for the draft and was granted eligibility because he is 18 and received his general equivalency diploma.

Cleveland took right-hander Alan Horne, from Marianna H.S. in Florida, with the 27th pick. Next, the St, Louis Cardinals selected Central Florida right-hander Justin Pope. Atlanta took shortstop Josh Burrus from Wheeler H.S. in Marietta, Ga., with the 29th pick.

Pepperdine lefty Noah Lowry was taken by San Francisco with the last pick of the first round.

Matt Harrington, a right-hander drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the seventh pick last year and the only first-round pick who didn't sign, re-entered the draft after a bitter contract dispute. He was picked in the second round by San Diego with the 58th pick.

The Seattle Mariners selected Michael Garciaparra with the 36th pick (the sandwich round between the first and second rounds for teams who lost free agents). The 18-year-old shortstop from La Habra Heights, Calif., is the younger brother of Nomar Garciaparra.

The Red Sox drafted Cuban defector Rolando Viera in the seventh round with the 214th overall pick. The lefthander was eligible for the draft after losing a court case on Monday in which he asked to be declared a free agent.

Information from SportsTicker was used in this report.