Jack Zduriencik, the Anti-Sund

What did I love about Jack Zduriencik's first baseball draft with the M's?

He picked guys who are actually good at playing the sport!

This would seem obvious, but more than a few Seattle GMs haven't understood it. Drives me nuts, when GMs focus on "tools" or "potential" more than what should be obvious. Can the guy f***ing play?

Like Rick Sund. Oh, God. He drafted Johan Petro, who'd averaged 2.1 ppg in France. And Sene, who may never have touched a basketball before the draft...BUT THAT WINGSPAN!

Or Tom Flores. He picked Dan McGwire, obsessed with the notion that McGwire's height (6-8) would make him an unstoppable NFL quarterback.

As it turns out, quarterbacking in the NFL requires several other talents besides "least distance from the sun." Doug Flutie, a full foot further away (and playing actual winning football in Canada), would come to the U.S. seven years later, at age 37, and still throw 84 more career TD passes than McGwire.

The guys Zduriencik took with his four top-60 picks aren't projects, they aren't freakish athletes. They are just good at baseball.

Dustin Ackley -- the best hitter in the draft, hit over .400 playing for a major conference team.

Nick Franklin -- Sez MLB's draft report: "Nothing jumps out at you tools-wise, but he just goes out and does a good job and can do a little bit of everything." I LOVE that nothing jumps out at me tools-wise. Give me a guy who can do actual baseball things over a guy with a strong arm any day.

Stephen Baron -- A high-school catcher with, again, according to MLB, "outstanding catch and throw skills." See that? Skills! At baseball! What skills did Sene have at hoops? As we learned, none.

Rich Poythress -- This guy does have a tool: Power. Can't field, can't run. Luckily, there's this position called "designated hitter" he'd be perfect for. I feel like this is sort-of like drafting a kicker. Poythress does one thing, hit homers, and he does it well. He was fifth in the NCAA DI in home runs, with 25.

Should they sign soon, Ackley and Poythress will likely start relatively high in the minor league system, and we'll soon see what they can do. In Ackley's case, you can watch him in the College World Series this weekend. His UNC Tar Heels play Arizona St. Saturday at 11 a.m. on ESPN.