DETROIT (AP) - With the future of the Motown Miracles franchise very much up in the air, a lot of people are curious about the newly drafted players. The questions aren't of the "can he hit, can he pitch" nature, but more of a "will this guy ever put on a Miracles uniform?". GM Cory Muzyka sat down with us to review the draft.

First round, 7th overall : Motown selects pitcher Jim Tavares. Tavares, 21 years old and a 6'2" righthander, has command of all three of his pitches - a nasty sinker being the best of the lot. He also thrives in late game situations and with runners in scoring position. Jim tends to pitch more ground balls than your average pitcher thanks to his sinker.

"Jim's going to be one of our best pitchers in a few years, no doubt about it. In fact, his control is so advanced at his young age that we think he might even get a chance to pitch this season in September. He throws lots of ground balls, throws hard, and has no history of arm trouble. He's also got a brilliant sinker."

First round, 8th overall : Motown selects pitcher Todd Crosby, then deals him to the Belfast Bombers - along with Idaho Laker catcher Bill East - for second baseman Jim Tipper. Tipper, a 24 years old switch hitter, is a big part of the club's future. He projects to be the team's leadoff man in 2-3 seasons. He has outstanding speed and contact numbers, which only look like improving.

"This was a pretty easy trade to make. Bill East is a good young catcher, but looking down the line at Jim Tipper's contact and speed numbers - not to mention that he is a great fielder - you can see straight away why we did this. He's going to be huge."

Second round, 31st overall : Motown selects pitcher Neil Hunter. Hunter, a 21 year old lefthander, has a stronger arm than Tavares, but doesn't yet have command of his fastball. His best asset? He has a stunning screwball. For a kid of 21, having a screwball this good is quite rare. Neil is another guy who tends to do well when there are runners on base.

"Neil's a bit of a project - the pitchers in this draft went so quickly that we jumped on the best guy available with this pick. Neil's a lefty which makes him even more valuable, and when you see he has an absolutely terrific screwball, well, you just have to wonder why he lasted 31 picks."

Second round, 36th overall : Motown selects third baseman Felix "The Cat" Snyder. Felix is a left handed hitting third baseman, with an average arm and a rapidly developing glove. He is, at 23, an outstanding contact hitter with some speed. His power potential is well below average.

"Felix is immediately faced with a problem - but we picked the best available hitter, without question. His problem is that we have a guy by the name of Dick Simpson, our third baseman of the future. So the question is, does Felix move to short or does Simpson? Felix is a great contact hitter, with some speed and a great glove."

Second round, 46th overall : Belfast selects catcher Tom "Memphis" Belle and deals him to Motown in the Bill East/Sam Tipper trade. Belle was highly coveted by the Miracles at this point - catchers with speed are rare in the game and Belle, a 21 year old catcher with a rocket arm, has great speed. Time will tell if he can hit major league pitching.

"We were really pumped to get Belle at this spot - a catcher with speed like his doesn't come around every day, and if he can put together some solid springs and get his contact hitting up we might just have a great catcher on our hands here."

Third round, 55th overall : Motown selects left fielder Owen Neill. Neill, a 20 year old switch hitter, doesn't project to make the Miracles anytime soon unless his hitting comes around quicker than anticipated. He has below average contact and power numbers, but makes up for it with some decent speed. He could be a sleeper.

Third round, 60th overall : Motown selects catcher Bob Storie. Bob, the Miracles second catcher in the draft, is another project. The 21 year old switch hitter has below average contact and power numbers, but has a great arm and reasonable foot speed.

Third round, 70th overall : The final piece of the East/Tipper puzzle, Belfast selected SS Craig Colpaert and dealt him to Motown. Craig is certainly another project with well below contact numbers. Time is on his side though, and at 19, the little lefthanded hitter has a chance to develop in the Motown system.

"These three are all real projects, make no mistake about it. We just took the best guy available at every pick and hope that one or more of them can develop. The most likely is obviously Neill, but we're not sure even about him. He has speed but doesn't get a lot of contact."

"All in all, we think our first draft as owners was pretty damn good. We got two great young pitchers, and a stunning young second baseman in Tipper. We also managed to pick up a speedy catcher, a potential third baseman and a bunch of projects. Generally we've filled out our minor leagues with some damn good prospects."