Mizzou Pitcher, Carter Rustad, Selected by Orioles in 15th Round

Missouri was on a roll in the 2024 MLB Draft on day three. After seeing teammate, Ryan Magdic, selected in the 14th round, Carter Rustad received the honors in the following. With the 459th overall pick, the Baltimore Orioles took a shot on the Mizzou pitching prospect.

Who is Carter Rustad?

Coming out of high-school, the Kansas City native was a highly touted pitching prospect, ranked No. 15 on D1 Baseball’s list of top 50 freshman pitchers. Rustad helped lead Staley High School to consecutive conference championships in 2018/19. Rustad was selected in the 23rd round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.

The 6-foot-4 righty decided to take his talents to the west coast though, committing to the University of San Diego. He got off to a hot start in 2020 before the season was surrendered due to Covid. In 2021, Rustad recovered nicely, throwing 53.2 innings to the tune of a 4.70 ERA through 15 appearances.

Prior to his junior season, Rustad returned close to home, transferring to Mizzou. In 2022, he had a solid campaign, tossing 51.1 innings, and holding a 4.73 ERA through 13 appearances for the Tigers.

In 2023, unfortunately Rustad caught a bad injury and missed practically the entire season. He made a return in 2024 however, pitching 65.0 innings for Mizzou. Despite posting a 6.37 ERA, his strikeouts and command were not problems. Rustad struck out 58 batters, while walking just 10 on the year. This definitely caught the attention of MLB scouts.

The Orioles have had a solid track record in recent years developing pitching, and it could be a perfect late round pickup for them. It will be awesome watching the development of Rustad throughout his career.