Teenage Brampton pitcher and Mississauga baseman picked in MLB draft

At just 18 years old, Brampton’s own Damarcus Rideout-Carter and Mississauga’s Robert Omidi are headed to the big leagues after being selected in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft.

A member of Canada’s Junior National Team and the Mississauga Tigers High Performance Program, Rideout-Carter was born in Brampton and is a graduate of Heart Lake Secondary School. The young, right-handed pitcher was selected 408th overall by the Pirates in the 14th round of the 2026 draft on Sunday, and was one of over a dozen pitchers selected by the team.

With a fastball that’s reached up to 95 miles per hour, the up-and-comer from Brampton comes in at 6’3″ tall and weighing around 170 lbs. He is considered a long-term projection candidate for the Pittsburgh Pirates with no college team commitment, according to reports.

 

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Ranked 402 by Baseball America, Rideout-Carter pitched against the DSL Marlins and the Blue Jays in extended spring training. The 18-year-old pitcher also has a sweeping slider and change-up in his arsenal. His fastball reached 93 miles per hour during the 2026 18U PG Canadian National Championship, along with an 81-mile-per-hour slider and an 83-mile-per-hour change-up.

MLB teams selected thirteen Canadians in the 2026 draft, including Mississauga’s Robert Omidi – another 18-year-old from St. Martin Secondary School. Omidi was also part of the Canadian Junior National Team, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers as a third baseman.

The Mississauga teen played the last two years against professional competition in Minor League Spring Training and in the Dominican Republic, and comes from the same high school that produced Minnesota Twins big leaguer Jordan Balazovic, according to MLB.com.