CLEVELAND, Ohio- Former Florida SouthWestern ace Ryan Gusto got the call all Baseball players dream of on Saturday as he was called up by the Houston Astros and is scheduled to make his Major League debut when they take on the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday in their regular season finale. 

 

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 Fayetville 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 this season though, now 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 is expected to get the start Sunday for the Astros when they take on the Cleveland Guardians in their final game of the 2024 regular season.  If he does toe the rubber at Progressive Field, he will become the second former FSW player to reach the Big Leagues this season, joining Carlos Rodriguez who debuted with the Milwaukee Brewers in June.