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In short:
Sydney native Travis Bazzanna has been selected first overall by the Cleveland Guardians in the Major League Baseball draft.
Bazzana, 21, is the first Australian to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft, let alone the first overall pick.
What's next?
Bazzana will join one of Cleveland's minor league teams and could make his MLB debut for the 58-37 Guardians as early as later this season.
Australian second baseman Travis Bazzana has been selected as the number one pick in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.
The Cleveland Guardians took the 21-year-old who moved to the United States to play college baseball for Oregon State.
The former cricket, rugby and soccer player hit .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs this college season, and he is the first Australian to ever be taken in the first round of the draft, let alone the first pick.
Under baseball's slotting system, each draft position is assigned a specific dollar value, which is basically the MLB's recommended bonus amount for a player drafted at that position. Bazzana is poised to earn roughly $15.6 million under the slotting system as the top pick in this year's draft.
"It means a lot, it's hard to put into words, but it means everything," Baseball Australia chief executive Glenn Williams told ESPN from Oregon.
"I'm just stoked to be with the people that I am, right here, right now."
Bazzana, who also played cricket growing up in Sydney, said he wants to raise baseball's profile in Australia through his career.
"I see a lot of opportunity — an opportunity to make an impact on a lot of (baseballers) and just people back home in Australia, hopefully change the narrative for the sport," Bazzana said.
"While baseball classics and Olympics are something I want to see on the cards … I just want to give belief to players back home that (they) can go do great things in the US and pursue a major league dream.
"Hopefully this is a step towards that."
The previous-highest Australian selection was pitcher Josh Spence, taken in the third round of the 2009 draft.
Cleveland had the top pick for the first time since the draft started in 1965, winning a weighted lottery in December despite having a two per cent chance.
The lottery was introduced last year as part of a collective bargaining agreement provision to discourage struggling teams from deliberately trying for a top draft pick by offloading veterans.
Teams were to make the first 74 picks on Monday at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth.
Manfred was booed by the roughly 2,000 fans on hand when he emerged on stage through the set's saloon doors to announce Bazzana as the No.1 choice.
Bazzana's home club, the Ku-Ring-Gai Stealers, was holding a function on Monday morning to watch the draft.
He will now go to one of Cleveland's minor league teams and — depending on his form there — could make his major league debut for the Guardians as early as later this season.
The Guardians lead the American League Central standings with a 58-37 record, the second-best across the major leagues.
AP/AAP/ABC
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