[luckymann]

Old Robbie Burns knew what he was on about, that’s for sure, as in the end our plans go awry. Albeit in a good way, at least hopefully.

With our first pick we take Jason Edwards, a two-way player. Jason’s stuff is off the charts, and he’s a pretty decent switch-hitter as well. He does, however, come up short defensively. I honestly never thought he’d still be on the loose by now, and had earmarked a couple of other similar types whose talent spread was more skewed toward their everyday prowess while still being good on the mound. But Jason is simply too good to pass on, so we don’t, and cross our fingers that one of the full-time shortstops we have our eyes on are still available come next round.

And the gods must be smiling on us, because by the time pick 374 comes around, my second-choice SS Blaine Luecke – a high-contact / no-power / solid glove switch-hitting speedster – is still in play. He is our second draftee.

Let the lucky-dip begin.

Unsurprisingly, the talent pool has been greatly depleted of its juicy fish by the time our next pick is upon us. That said, one of our outfield hopes is still available—Joe Boone; no superstar by any means and with about as much pop as a deflated balloon, but he should hit for .270 and offers plus defence at all three OF spots.

With our fourth pick we take southpaw starting pitcher J.D. Bell, an inning-chewing workhorse who is unlikely to feature until next season. J.D. was actually on our longlist for lower picks. With our fifth and final, we take Tim Wilcox, whose glove is mightier than his bat, and who was not on any list we had compiled.

I go to bed that night, if not feeling like we’ve solved all of our problems in one fell swoop (like that was ever going to happen), at least having taken a few steps in the right direction.