Ryan Lee Mountcastle (born February 18, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020.

Amateur career

Mountcastle attended Hagerty High School in

Oviedo, Florida Oviedo ( ) is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. As of 2020, the population was 40,059. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Oviedo was known for its historic houses and buildings and a ...

. He was drafted by the

in the first round with the 36th overall selection of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. He signed for $1.3 million, forgoing his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

Professional career

Minor leagues

Mountcastle signed with the Orioles and was assigned to the

Gulf Coast League Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home g ...

to begin his professional career. After batting .313 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in 43 games in the GCL, he was promoted to the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

, where he batted .212 in ten games to finish the season. In 2016, Mountcastle spent the season with the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

where he posted a .281 average with ten home runs and 51 RBIs along with a .745 OPS in 115 games. In 2017, Mountcastle spent time between the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for the "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team ...

and the

Bowie Baysox The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, th ...

, batting a combined .287 along with a career high 18 home runs and 62 RBIs in 127 games between both teams. After the season, he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

and played in the Fall Stars Game.

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ranked Mountcastle as Baltimore's third best prospect going into the 2018 season. He spent 2018 with Bowie, slashing .297/.341/.464 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs in 102 games. In 2019, Mountcastle spent the season with the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

, and switched to first base. After slashing .312/.344/.527 with 25 home runs and 83 RBIs over 127 games, he was named the International League Most Valuable Player. Following the season, he was added to the Orioles 40–man roster.

Major leagues

On August 21, 2020, Mountcastle was promoted to the major leagues and made his MLB debut same day. On August 22, Mountcastle had his first major league hit against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in the bottom of the ninth inning. On August 30, he hit his first MLB home run. On the season for Baltimore, Mountcastle slashed .333/.386/.492 with five home runs and 23 RBI over 35 games. Mountcastle returned to Baltimore for the 2021 season as their starting first baseman and also spent time in left field and as their designated hitter. On June 7, 2021, Mountcastle was named American League Player of the Week, after hitting safely in all six games he played in, and going 11-for-24 (.458) with four home runs, three doubles, ten RBI, and a 1.563 OPS. On June 19, Mountcastle had his first career three-home run game against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

, launching two off of Toronto starter

Alek Manoah Alek Isaac Manoah (born January 9, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Blue Jays selected Manoah with the 11th overall pick of the 2019 MLB draft out of West Virginia U ...

and one off of reliever Anthony Kay. Over 144 games for the season, he slashed .255/.309/.487 with 33 home runs, 89 RBI, and 23 doubles. His 33 home runs were the most ever by an Orioles rookie, and he led the major leagues in home runs by a rookie. In 2022, Mountcastle batted .250/.305/.423 with 22 home runs and 85 RBI in 145 games. On April 11, 2023, Mountcastle tied an Orioles record with nine RBI in a 12–8 win over the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. On August 8, he hit a 472–foot home run off of Framber Valdez of the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

. The two–run shot served as the furthest home run at

Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the Baseball park#Retro-classic ballparks, "retro" major le ...

by an Oriole in the

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era (since 2015). Mountcastle had a pair of home runs and five RBI in a 10–1

away Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a British film directed by David Blair * ''Away'' (2019 film), a Latvian animated silent film by Gints Zilbalodis * Away (2025 film), a drama film by Gerard Oms * ''Away'' (TV series ...

victory over the Blue Jays on June 4, 2024. The performance continued his career offensive dominance over the Blue Jays. Mountcastle played in 52 games for Baltimore to begin the 2025 season, hitting .246 with two home runs and 15 RBI. On June 6, 2025, it was announced that Mountcastle would miss 8-to-12 weeks due to a Grade 2 strain of his right hamstring. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on June 23.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountcastle, Ryan 1997 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Seminole County, Florida Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Gulf Coast Orioles players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Norfolk Tides players People from Winter Springs, Florida Salt River Rafters players