Moonshiners Monitor, Vol. 1.25: 1997 Draft Recap

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Without first- or second-round picks in this year's draft, the Greenville Moonshiners' first pick was the 74th overall selection, No. 18 in the third round.

That selection ended up being Raymond Meyer, a 22-year-old outfielder out of Kirkwood, Mo., who hit .330/.382/.645 with 9 doubles, 5 triples, 15 homers, 46 RBI, 55 runs, 19 BB, 31 K and 40 stolen bases in 203 at-bats. Meyer is a speedster (16 speed, 19 stealing, 20 instincts) who should be a solid backup outfielder with a little bit of pop in his bat (5 contact, 7 gap, 7 power) in a few seasons.

Greenville's next pick was hard-working reliever Terry Dumont. The 17-year-old righthander has great stamina (17) and should be a solid relief option with a very good cutter and curveball. He'll walk a few batters (5 control), but will strike out more (7 stuff) and should do a decent job of keeping the ball in the park (6 movement). He isn't likely to be a star reliever, but he should be a solid piece in a playoff contender's bullpen.

The Moonshiner's other picks were:

-- P Carl Burnette: The fifth-round selection has solid stamina (16) with a good fastball (7) and great changeup (9). He doesn't have a very good third pitch (2 curveball) so he likely will be stuck in the bullpen for his career.

-- C Chris Clark: The 17-year-old backstop has some pop in his bat (8 gap, 6 power), but has a long way to go before he's ready to move up the org chart (5/7/2/2/3 ratings). His hard work and smarts could make that more likely than it is for most prospects.

-- IF Jose Cortez: A defensive whiz (17 range, 17 errors, 14 arm, 15 DP), the 18-year-old has some good gap power (9) as well, and doesn't strike out often (7). He's another hard-working smart guy who definitely could find a spot as a backup infielder if he develops.

-- OF Pat Carter: The definition of pinch-runner and defensive sub, Carter is good on the basepaths (13 speed, 18 steal, 14 instincts) and solid in the outfield (17 range, 13 errors, 17 arm), but isn't likely to ever get a plate appearance in the majors (4/6/5/2/5 hitting talents).

-- P Cliff Sweeny: If Sweeny ever makes it to the majors, you'll know either he bumped a record number of times or Greenville is tanking.

-- The same can be said of fellow pitcher draftees Steve Halpenny, Albert Hendry, Mokichi Nomura, Ruben Bautista, Matt Tapia and Dillon Barnes.