23 year-old Australian Liam Spence has been selected by the Chicago Cubs in the MLB Draft on Tuesday Morning. The Shortstop was selected by the Cubs with pick 154 during the 5th round.

The in-fielder who plays his college baseball for the Tennessee Volunteers is originally from Geelong, Victoria. In what was a terrific season for Spence, he was named to the All-SEC First Team after hitting 5 Home Runs, 36 RBI's and batting at an average of .336 across the season.

In addition to his impressive offensive output, Spence was also named to the SEC All-Defensive 2nd team and was a major reason for Tennessee winning their first Southeastern Conference division title in 24 years.

As a youngster Spence was described as "undersized while in high school" by Baseball Australia national player development manager Andrew Riddell.

Riddell said Spence "chose to go to a junior college program to get bigger and stronger while getting more reps and at-bats". The former Geelong Baycats junior still has the option to not sign with the Cubs and return to Tennessee for 1 more season.

Also in the MLB, Liam Hendricks has become the first Australian to be selected and appear in two seperate All-Star games (2019,2021).

The Perth born pitcher is enjoying another fruitful season for the Chicago White Sox who currently sit in first place of the American League Central Division with a record of 54-35 at the All-Star break.

Hendricks is currently allowing an ERA of 2.75 from 39.1 innings pitched so far this season, and featured in the 9th inning of the All-Star game on Wednesday where he closed out the game to earn a save and the win for the American League side.