Kiwi baseballer drafted by Toronto Blue Jays

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Auckland teenager Daniel Devonshire has become the third New Zealander to ever be drafted by a Major League Baseball team.

Devonshire was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 37th round of the Major League Draft today (NZT).

The 19-year-old catcher currently attends Colby Community College in Kansas.

He joins fellow Auckland Scott Campbell as a Kiwi to be drafted by the Blue Jays, taken in the tenth round in 2006. Paraparaumu-born Andy Skeels was the first New Zealand-born player to be drafted, by the San Diego Padres in 1987. The 46-year-old now manages the San Francisco Giant's single-A affiliate in San Jose.

No New Zealander has ever played Major League Baseball in the United States, with former Black Sox Travis Wilson coming the closest; missing making the Atlanta Braves' roster by just one spot in 2001.

Devonshire is the third Kiwi to link up with a Major League Baseball team over the last 18 months, following Wellington's Te Wera Bishop (Boston Red Sox) and Auckland's Pita Rona (Baltimore Orioles).

- © Fairfax NZ News