Guys picked that low usually don’t make it to the big leagues (though ask David Bote, an 18th-round pick). But after Rusch had a 1.74 ERA and 0.869 WHIP in Advanced-A at age 20 in 1995, the Royals fast-tracked him to the big leagues. He was in K.C.’s rotation by 1997, and this was probably not a good idea.
Overmatched, he was traded to the Mets, then the Brewers. He had an awful year in 2003 for Milwaukee, was let go and picked up by Texas but was released by the Rangers at the end of spring training in 2004.