Missouri vs Le Moyne. March 11, 2011. Taylor Stadium - Columbia, Mo. Rob Zastryzny (8)Missouri vs Le Moyne. March 11, 2011. Taylor Stadium - Columbia, Mo. Rob Zastryzny (8)
Baseball

#MizzouMade Rob Zastryzny Gets Called Up to Major League

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Baseball standout Rob Zastryzny (Corpus Christi, Texas) had his contract purchased by Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs Friday as he becomes the 11th Mizzou player to make it to the bigs since 2000. Zastryzny and the Cubs are headed to Denver for a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies, beginning tonight at Coors Field.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former Mizzou Baseball standout Rob Zastryzny (Corpus Christi, Texas) had his contract purchased by Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs Friday as he becomes the 11th Mizzou player to make it to the bigs since 2000. Zastryzny and the Cubs are headed to Denver for a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies, beginning tonight at Coors Field.

Zastryzny pitched at Mizzou from 2011-13 and earned the nickname 'Friday' after becoming Mizzou's Friday night starter midway through his freshman year. In all, he pitched 30 Friday night starts and ended his career with a 3.83 ERA in 46 games. As a junior, he started 13 games and pitched 90.2 innings, striking out 82 against only 24 walks. He tossed 109.0 innings and compiled a 3.80 ERA as a sophomore in 2012 and was instrumental in guiding Mizzou to a Big 12 Tournament Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tucson Regional.

In the Big 12 Tournament, Zastryzny shined in an opening-round game against No. 3 Texas. He tossed 8.1 shutout innings, scattering just five hits with no walks and three strikeouts. It was Mizzou's first shutout in a conference tournament game since 2006. On short rest, he then started the Big 12 Championship game against Oklahoma and threw 65 pitches over 4.1 innings as Mizzou jumped out to a 4-2 lead that turned into an 8-7 championship win during Mizzou's final year in the Big 12.

In his draft year in 2013, Zastryzny handled SEC hitters with a career-best 3.38 ERA. His best performance of the year came in front of hundreds of scouts at the SEC Tournament against eventual College World Series runner-up Mississippi State. In a 17-inning game that Mizzou lost, 2-1, Zastryzny was lights out. He tossed the first 9.0 innings and allowed just one earned run on seven hits with seven strikeouts.

That performance launched him up draft boards and the Cubs eventually selected him with the second pick of the second round (41st overall) in 2013. He was the highest-drafted Tiger since 2009 and no Tiger has been selected higher than him since.

His call-up comes after a sensational month of August with AAA Iowa. He opened August with five perfect innings and eight strikeouts against just no walks at Omaha and the followed that with 6.0 shutout innings in his next start against Oklahoma City on August 7, striking out five against just one walk. He scattered just two hits over 11.0 innings in those two starts. He was the first pitcher selected by Cubs GM Theo Epstein.

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