HOUSTON, Texas- Six long months after getting his call to the Big Leagues, former Florida SouthWestern ace Ryan Gusto finally got the chance to make his Major League Baseball debut on Monday, throwing two scoreless innings for the Houston Astros in their game against the San Francisco Giants, joining Carlos Rodriguez as the only two FSW players to represent the Bucs in MLB. 

 

Gusto was the FCSAA and Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2019, marking the first and only time that a Buccaneer arm has received that honor.  He led the state in strikeouts with 110, despite not pitching full time in the FSW rotation until March.  Gusto finished his lone year with the Bucs 7-2 in 18 appearances, posting a 2.88 ERA in 75 innings pitched.  The signature game of his sophomore season came in late March when he tossed seven shutout innings, striking out a school record 16 in a Bucs win over conference rival Polk State. He was then selected in the 11^th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Houston Astros, at the time making him the Bucs highest draft pick since the program's resurgence in 2016. 

 

Gusto threw well in his first professional assignment in 2019, posting a 1.84 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 14 2/3 innings across five appearances for the Astros Rookie League squad and then Tri City after a promotion.  His career hit a bump in the road in 2020 as he underwent surgery on his arm and missed two complete seasons. But  that didn't deter the resilient Gusto, who was a walk-on to start his collegiate career at Broward College as he took the ball 23 times in 2022 for Low A Fayetteville and then High A Ashville, eating up 90 innings while piling up 96 strikeouts in his first season back from injury.  2023 was a repeat performance as he continued to climb the 'Stros ladder, this time surpassing the 100 innings pitched mark over 26 appearances, going 7-4 with 115 strikeouts and just 46 walks for Ashville and AA  Corpus Christi.  He put it all together last season though, finally 100% healthy, Gusto made the jump to AAA Sugar Land look easy as he started 26 games and piled up 148 1/3 innings on the bump which ranked second in the league while striking out 141 opposing hitters which was six more than any other player in the Pacific Coast League.

 

Gusto's wait to make his Major League debut was longer than most after his call up. Gusto got the call all Baseball players dream of last September, finding out his 2024 performance in the minors had earned him a call up to start the Astros regular season finale against the Cleveland Guardians. The fairy tale portion of the story took a turn from there though as the weather didn't cooperate and with the game being meaningless for the two sides who had already locked in their postseason positions, it was cancelled. Fast forward five months and Gusto was invited to Big League camp with the Astros and pitched well in four appearances, but despite his efforts, he was reassigned to Minor League Camp. But just when it looked like his path to the Big Leagues was going to be a little bit longer, he was the final player added to the Astros Opening Day roster last Thursday. He didn't see the mound in the 'Stros opening series against the New York Mets, but in the 7^th inning of Monday's series opener with the Giants, Gusto's number 67 got the call from the bullpen and he delivered, throwing two scoreless innings, picking up his first Major League strikeout on a 97 mile per hour fastball past All Star Matt Chapman. 

 

Gusto is the second former Buccaneer in as many seasons to reach the Big Leagues, joining fellow righthander Carlos Rodriguez who debuted with the Milwaukee Brewers last June.