John Raynor

John Raynor
Outfielder
Born: January 4, 1984 (1984-01-04) (age 28)
Benson, North Carolina
Bats: Right Throws: Right 
MLB debut
April 8, 2010 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Career statistics
(through 2010 season)
Batting average     .200
Home runs     0
Runs batted in     0
Teams

John Patrick Raynor (born January 4, 1984 in Benson, North Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, although he spent most of his career in the Florida/Miami Marlins organization. He is currently a coach/student at his alma matter, UNC-Wilmington.

Contents

Career

Draft

Raynor was originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 12th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign, choosing to return to the UNC-Wilmington for his senior year. In the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, Raynor was selected in the 9th round by the Florida Marlins and signed by scout Joel Matthews.

Florida Marlins

In 2006, Raynor played 54 games for the Marlins Class A Short-Season affiliate, the Jamestown Jammers in the New York-Penn League. He hit .286, 4, 21 with 21 SBs and was selected as a NY-Penn league all-star. He spent the entire 2007 campaign with the Marlins Class A affiliate, the Greensboro Grasshoppers in the South Atlantic League. Raynor hit .333, 13, 57 with 54 SBs and 110 Runs scored. He was named a South Atlantic League All-Star, MVP of the South Atlantic League, and was also selected as the Florida Marlins organizational Player of the Year for 2007.

Raynor spent 2008 with the Double-A Carolina Mudcats of the Southern League. There, he hit .312, 13, 51 with 48 SBs, and 104 Runs scored. He was named a Southern League All-Star and started in left field for the North Division in the mid-summer classic.

That fall, Raynor was selected by the Marlins to participate in the Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Solar Sox. He played in 8 games for Mesa before being hit in the left hand by a pitch that cut his AFL season short. During his short time in Mesa, he hit at a .364, 1, 10 clip with 4 SBs, including hitting for the cycle on October 10 versus the Surprise Rafters.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On December 10, 2009, the Pittsburgh Pirates selected Raynor with the second pick in the 2009 Rule 5 draft.[1] He made the Pirates 2010 opening day roster.

Raynor walked in his major league debut on April 8, 2010, and got his first big league hit two at bats later against San Francisco on April 12.

Raynor appeared in 11 games and had two hits, a walk and three strikeouts in 10 at bats for the Pirates. He was designated for assignment on April 27 to make room for Jeff Karstens. The Pirates had hoped to make a deal to keep Raynor in the organization, but offered him back to the Marlins on May 4.

=Retirement

After failing to make the opening day roster, the Marlins released Raynor on March 23, 2011. He decided to retire at the age of 27. He is now a coach/student at UNC-Wilmington.

References

External links