On Sunday night, outfielder Micah Bello had difficulty sleeping. On Monday afternoon, he was able to fulfill a dream.
The Milwaukee Brewers selected Bello, a 2018 Hilo High graduate, on the opening day of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
“I’m speechless,” Bello said in a telephone interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
Bello was the 73rd overall selection in the three-day, 40-round draft. Bello was picked in the competitive-balance round, which followed Monday’s second round.
The slot value for the No. 73 pick is listed at $824,900 on mlb.com.
Bello had signed to play at Saint Mary’s (Calif.). “I’m probably going to sign (with the Brewers),” Bello said.
This past season, Bello hit .564 with an on-base percentage of .667 and slugging percentage of .821. He also stole 16 bases.
He said the Brewers had scouted him at the Area Code Games last summer, the WWBA World Championship the past fall, and during his senior season.
“We knew they liked me, but we didn’t think they’d pick me this early,” Bello said of the Brewers. “We were expecting the Royals to pick me.”
His family gathered to watch the draft on the MLB Network. At about 5:30 p.m., he received a call from the Brewers. “I couldn’t move,” he recalled. “I was frozen.”
Bello, who is listed at 5 feet 11 and 165 pounds, has not been told which outfield position he will play. “I’ll play wherever I have to,” Bello said.
He added: “I always wanted to play baseball. My dad got me into it.”
In the offseason, Bello trains with St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong and Kean Wong, who plays for the Tampa Rays’ Class AAA affiliate in Durham, N.C.
“They’ve been amazing,” Bello said. “They prepared me for this draft and what to expect if I got drafted.”
Bello is the highest draft pick selected out of high school from Hawaii since the Brewers picked Waiakea left-hander Kodi Medeiros 12th overall in 2014.
The draft continues today with rounds 3-10 and rounds 11-40 on Wednesday.
