5 days agoKansas City Royals starting pitcher
Cole Ragans was dealing in Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Twins. Ragans pitched six innings, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with 11 strikeouts. He also hit a batter. Unfortunately for him,
Pablo Lopez (hamstring) was able to silence the Royals' bats, and they weren't able to pull ahead until late in the game. Ragans has delivered what fantasy managers were expecting through his first three starts, compiling a 2.81 ERA, a 13.50 K/9 rate, and a 2.25 BB/9 rate in 16 IP. He has yet to earn a win, but he has done everything in his power to position himself for them. Ragans will draw a decent matchup in his next start at the Guardians, a lineup that has been mediocre to this point but has not struck out much.
--Connelly Doan - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
2 weeks agoAlthough he only went five innings and picked up a no-decision in Wednesday's 3-2 extra-innings loss to the hosting Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field, Kansas City Royals left-hander
Cole Ragans had a strong day on the bump for his fantasy managers. Ragans allowed only one earned run on five hits (one homer) while walking two and striking out 10. The only run he gave up came in the first inning on a solo shot by Brewers outfielder
Jackson Chourio. The former first-rounder hasn't been all that efficient in his first two starts of the 2025 season and has gone just 10 total innings, but he's generating plenty of swings and misses and now has 13 strikeouts. The 27-year-old southpaw should be considered a must-start in his next scheduled outing at Kauffman Stadium against the division-rival Minnesota Twins.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com
2 months agoKansas City Royals left-hander
Cole Ragans, who tossed two scoreless innings in his Cactus League debut on Monday against the Athletics, has been focusing on his slider early in spring training. He averaged 96.9 mph with the 17 fastballs that he threw and topped out at 98.3 mph. Ragans wants to get back to the success he had in the second half of 2023 when he first introduced his slider. "The movement was right where we wanted it," Ragans said. "Just more so now getting it to that down and glove side [part of the plate] instead of over the plate." The 27-year-old southpaw just signed a three-year, $13.25 million extension with KC several weeks ago after he became one of the team's top starters in 2024 with a 3.14 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 223 K's in 186 1/3 regular-season innings. Fantasy managers should target him as a low-end No.1/high-end No. 2 starting pitcher.
--Keith Hernandez - RotoBallerSource: MLB.com - Anne Rogers
2 months agoKansas City Royals starting pitcher
Cole Ragans has signed a new extension with the organization on Friday. The southpaw has reached a three-year, $13.25 million contract extension with the Royals. This deal will cover the upcoming 2025 campaign and two seasons of arbitration eligibility. At first glance, this seems like a steal for the Royals considering Ragans is one of the best left-handed starters in the MLB right now. However, the 2024 campaign was also Ragans first year with over 100 innings pitched, so this extension does give him some financial security in case of an injury or possible regression. Although, the 27-year-old appears to only be getting better after his fantastic 2024 campaign. Ragans posted a 3.14 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and a 223/67 K/BB ratio across 32 starts. The Royals are hopeful that Ragans can be their ace for the foreseeable future.
--Andy Webb - RotoBallerSource: Jeff Passan
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