Raynor's path to big show is through Zebulon

ZEBULON -- Some would say John Raynor was born to play baseball.

"It sure seems that way," Raynor said this week, flashing a big smile. "I've got a picture of me as a baby holding a baseball and a bat, with a uniform on."

Raynor enters the season as the leadoff hitter and left fielder for the Carolina Mudcats, who play their Double-A Southern League opener today in Mobile, Ala., against the BayBears. That comes after Raynor was chosen the Single-A South Atlantic League's MVP last season with the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

For Raynor, 24, playing for the Mudcats is like coming home. He was raised in Benson and spent many a night at Five County Stadium with his father, Max, and grandfather, Roy -- watching, dreaming.

"Growing up, you look out there and say, 'I want to do that,' " Raynor said. "It's crazy how things work out."

Max Raynor, a Benson optometrist, played college baseball at Louisburg and East Carolina. Roy Raynor once played semipro baseball and was the shortstop on an all-star team that included Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry.

"I was raised in a baseball family and shown the way," John Raynor said.

A standout at South Johnston High, Raynor went to UNC-Wilmington. He was the Seahawks' leadoff hitter his first two seasons, then was moved down in the batting order as he began to show more power.

Drafted in the ninth round by the Florida Marlins in 2006, Raynor scored 110 runs in 116 games for the Grasshoppers last season while hitting .333. He stole 54 bases and also hit 13 homers.

"I never think about the power side of the game," he said. "It's important for me to help this team by getting on base. I show more power when I don't think about it. You have to be a hitter first. Get on base, get in scoring position."

That's what Mudcats manager Matt Raleigh wants from him.

"The first day I saw him, I liked what he did, liked how he swung the bat," Raleigh said. "We'll stick him at the top of the lineup and see how it plays out. I'm not looking for power. We'll be looking at on-base percentage and how he works that pitcher in the first inning and gets something started right off the get-go."

Raynor comes from a competitive family. His sister, Anna, first began throwing the javelin while at UNCW and has made a rapid rise in track and field. She ranked third nationally in 2007, has competed internationally and will vie for a spot on the U.S. team for this summer's Olympics.

"John has always been super athletic but has been a late bloomer, never quite realizing how good he can be," Max Raynor said. "His sister was a three-time All-America who has gotten a lot of press. But he's coming."

Raynor will be in the same outfield with Cameron Maybin, an Asheville native who was a top prospect for the Detroit Tigers until last season's big trade. The Marlins sent pitcher Dontrelle Willis and third baseman Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers in exchange for Maybin, former North Carolina pitcher Andrew Miller and four other players.

Maybin hoped to make the Marlins' big-league roster but hit .190 in spring training.

The Mudcats, 60-80 last season, have a roster filled with young talent. Raynor considers playing for Carolina the next step toward what he calls the "ultimate goal."

"I remember bringing John to games at Five County Stadium when he was 10," Max Raynor said. "Then, it seemed like an impossibility he might one day play there. Now, it's reality."