The Royals Future Ace: Cole Ragans
©Photo by Ezra Shaw/ (Getty Images)
There is a new ace in Kansas City, and his name is Cole Ragans. The 25-year-old left-handed pitcher was drafted in the first-round by the Texas Rangers in 2016 and stayed with the organization until he was traded to Kansas City this June. Ragans debuted in 2022 and started nine games that year, posting an ERA of 4.95, a WHIP of 1.48, and had 27 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched. Again, Ragans began this year with the Rangers, and things did not look any better than his first year with the big club. In 2023, before being traded, the lefty was utilized as a bullpen arm for the Rangers, appearing in 17 games, posting an ERA of 5.92, WHIP of 1.40, and 24 strikeouts in 24 innings.
Since he arrived in Kansas City, Ragans has been nothing but spectacular, arguably the best pitcher in baseball since he was traded. So far, in nine starts with the Royals, Ragans is 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA. Not only has Ragans ERA gone down drastically, but his WHIP is 0.99 as he has compiled 69 strikeouts in 53.1 innings. The southpaw has also thrown six or more innings for the Royals in his nine starts and, throughout those six innings, has had 8 or more strikeouts in five of those games. One thing that has stood out when looking at Ragan's recent success is his fastball velocity. In 2022, Ragans had an average fastball velocity of 92 miles per hour, but in 2023, Ragans average fastball velocity was 97 miles per hour which, paired with his above-average offspeed offerings, is a lethal combination.
It seems fair to say that the Rangers did not get all of Ragans potential, ultimately giving the Royals their future ace on the mound as they try to rebuild to a World Series contender as they were years before.
