Joe Mauer is used to being the young guy. It’s been that way ever since he signed out of Cretin Derham Hall in 2001.

He was 20 when he played in the Florida State League in 2003, batting .335 in 62 games before getting promoted to Class AA New Britain.

Mauer made his big league debut on April 5, 2004, two weeks shy of his 21st birthday. He made his first All-Star team and won his first batting title in 2006, at age 23. He started the All-Star Game and won his second batting title last season, at age 25.

Well, Mauer turned 26 on April 19 and couldn’t help feeling like an old man. He was surrounded by some of the Twins’ youngest prospects at the Twins’ year-round facility in Fort Myers, Fla.

Then he began a five-game stint in the Class A Florida State League with the Miracle.

“I was older than everybody on their roster, so it was a little different,” Mauer said.

Mauer teamed with top Twins prospects Ben Revere (age 21), Joe Benson (21), Carlos Gutierrez (22), Michael McCardell (24), David Bromberg (21), and Tyler Robertson (21) among others.

With Mauer catching, here were the starting pitching lines:

McCardell: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K.
Gutierrez: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K.
Bromberg: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Robertson: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

In his five games, including one as the DH, Mauer went 6-for-15 (.400) with two doubles, four RBI, one strikeout and two walks.

He had one passed ball. Nobody dared try steal on him until Tuesday. Palm Beach’s Jose Garcia tried nabbing second base in the fourth inning. Mauer threw him out.

“There’s some guys who can play down there,” Mauer said. “I was really impressed with Cates.”

That’s Chris Cates, the 5-foot-3 infielder out of the University of Louisville, who is batting .333 for the Miracle at age 23.

“He’s a little more advanced,” Mauer said. “He’s got great baseball IQ. He’s like a Nick Punto but a little smaller, if you can believe that.”

As Mauer said this Tuesday night, he was making the three-hour drive from West Palm Beach to Fort Myers. He caught a flight the next day and will be back in the lineup tonight against Kansas City. (Souhan weighs in on Mauer’s comeback here.)

“I can’t wait to get back,” he said. “It gives me an appreciation for being in the big leagues. I don’t think I lost track of that, but I definitely got a reminder.”

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