FORT WORTH, Texas — Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana was taken by the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday evening with the highest choose in Main League Baseball’s novice draft.
A former cricket, rugby and soccer participant who got here to america to play baseball for Oregon State, the 21-year-old hit .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs this season.
Baseball’s high choose this yr had a slot worth of $10,570,600 underneath the bonus swimming pools system that started in 2012.
Cleveland had the highest choose for the primary time for the reason that draft started in 1965, successful a weighted lottery in December regardless of having a 2% likelihood. The lottery started final yr as a part of a collective bargaining settlement provision to discourage struggling groups from intentionally making an attempt for a high draft choose by eliminating veterans.
Groups had been to make the primary 74 picks Sunday on the Cowtown Coliseum, with the rest of the 20 rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Cleveland additionally picked thirty sixth and forty eighth.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred was booed by the roughly 2,000 followers readily available when he emerged on stage by means of the set’s saloon doorways.