If I'm claiming in my case for Nick Pivetta that the well has run dry at starting pitcher and we may have to take bigger risks just to fill out our lineups, then I'd be remiss not to point out what Ragans did in his return to the Royals rotation Wednesday. Filling the spot vacated by Ryan Yarbrough at the trade deadline, he had the Mets flailing meekly at his four-pitch arsenal, which was all brought together by a much slower cutter than he's implemented in the past. Really, it was more of a slider, which he thinks will create more differentiation with his fastball and help to neutralize lefties. They were on the other end of four of his eight strikeouts in this one. One good start may not be reason to rush out and add Ragans, but between this new pitch and the velocity bump he's enjoyed all year, there may be something here.
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Royals' Cole Ragans: Throws six shutout innings
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Ragans (3-3) allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out eight over six shutout innings to earn the win Wednesday over the Mets.
Ragans turned in his best outing of the year after joining the Royals' rotation. With Daniel Lynch (shoulder) shut down into mid-August, Ragans may get a chance to stick as a starter for a while. He's compiled a 4.33 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 35:17 K:BB through 35.1 innings over 19 appearances (two starts). The 25-year-old southpaw is tentatively projected for a road start in Boston next week if he remains in the rotation.
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Royals' Cole Ragans: Recalled for start Wednesday
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Kansas City recalled Ragans from Triple-A Omaha ahead of his scheduled start Wednesday against the Mets.
Ragans pitched pretty well in a spot start for the Royals last month against the Rays, but the 25-year-old left-hander owns a career 5.06 ERA, 1.43 WHIP and 54:32 K:BB in 69.1 total innings of work at the major-league level. He is not a recommended fantasy streamer versus New York.
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Royals' Cole Ragans: Starting Wednesday
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Ragans will be promoted from Triple-A Omaha to start Wednesday's game against the Mets, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
Wednesday's start was originally supposed to go to Alec Marsh, but Marsh's start will be pushed back to the weekend because he entered Tuesday's game out of the bullpen. Ragans holds a 4.13 ERA and 1.38 WHIP through 28.1 innings in Triple-A this season, but he surrendered just one run over five innings during his start against the Rays on July 15.
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Royals' Cole Ragans: Returns to minors after spot start
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Ragans was returned to Triple-A Omaha on Saturday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
The move comes shortly after Ragans fared well in a spot start in the second game of a doubleheader against the Rays, as the lefty fanned three over five innings of one-run ball. Ragans was the 27th man Saturday, so the Royals could bring him back at any time without having to wait 15 days, which would have been the case had he been recalled and optioned. There would seem to be a good chance Ragans has earned another start at some point next week.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Takes lumps in loss
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Ragans allowed four runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over three innings in Monday's 12-0 loss to Atlanta.
Ragans ceded his first two home runs of the season in clean-up work following rookie starter Cody Bradford, who allowed six earned runs over five innings. Eating multiple innings in relief is Ragans' job, and he's hit some bumps along the way. The left-hander has allowed 12 runs over his last 12.1 innings.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Plays major role in loss
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Ragans allowed five runs on three hits and one walk over two-thirds of an inning in Tuesday's 7-6 loss to the Reds. He also hit a batter.
Ragans managed to avoid getting the loss -- that went to Ian Kennedy -- but the fault falls mostly on Ragans. It was the second straight bullpen meltdown by Texas relievers. The bullpen had been strong to begin the season but are in a rough patch, posting a 6.75 ERA over 13.1 innings since the start of the series with the Athletics last week.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Handed first loss Saturday
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Ragans (2-1) allowed two runs on five hits while striking out three over four innings, picking up the loss in Saturday's game against the Astros.
Ragans was forced to enter the game when starter Jon Gray was removed following a comebacker off his elbow. That's never an easy situation for a pitcher, but the 25-year-old lefty filled up the zone (40 of 55 pitches for strikes) in an effort to get quick outs and eat up as many innings as possible. "Cole did a good job for us, gave us some much needed innings," Texas manager Bruce Bochy told Kenndi Landry of MLB.com. "He did a really nice job getting us some length to the seventh inning." Gray's injury appears to be a minor one, and he could make his next start, so Ragans may not be needed for a spot start. The lefty, who was a minor-league starter, has adjusted well to a bullpen role in 2023, giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out nine over nine innings (six outings). Of note, after issuing four free passes in his first 3.1 innings, Ragans is walk-free over the last 5.2 frames.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Picks up win
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Ragans (2-0) retired both of the batters faced in the top of the 10th inning to earn the win over Kansas City on Tuesday.
Ragans entered with one out and two on in the top of the 10th inning and gave up a flyball that plated a run charged to Jose Leclerc before getting the final out. When the Rangers scored four in the bottom half, it made Ragans a winner for the second time in 2023. The young left-hander has not allowed a run in five relief outings.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Dominates early
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Ragans allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out five over 3.2 innings in Saturday's start against the Reds.
Ragans dominated Cincinnati early, getting through the first three innings one batter over the minimum, but the left-hander tired in the fourth. Nevertheless, Ragans has been one of the top stories in camp due to increased fastball velocity. He leads Texas with 14 strikeouts over 9.2 innings. With the rotation all but set in stone, Ragans, who made nine starts for Texas last season, could serve in the bullpen at the MLB level or continue on a starter's path at Triple-A Round Rock and be ready when the Rangers need a fill-in.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Increases velocity
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Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Ragans was hitting 95-96 mph during his first Cactus League start last Sunday, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.
Ragans' fastball velocity was 92.1 mph in 2022, putting him in the 19th percentile among pitchers. The velocity increase is startling. "I went back and looked at (last year's) games when I came over, and watched him," Bochy said. "It was impressive, wasn't it? He was bumping 96 (mph). I didn't see that in (last year's) games." The left-hander said he was on a program at a place called Tread Athletics, which he credits with the added 3-4 mph velocity. He's not a projected member of the five-man rotation, but he could move up among the depth options if the uptick in velocity is sustainable.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Makes spring debut
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Ragans allowed one walk and struck out three over two scoreless innings in Sunday's spring game against Cleveland.
Ragans made nine starts in the majors last season but should serve as an organizational depth option in 2023 after Texas added several seasoned starters during the offseason. The lefty had a pair of Tommy John elbow surgeries that wiped out 2018 through 2020 and could use more starts in the minors. In 40 innings against major-league hitters, Ragans' 9.2 BB% and 1.35 HR/9 were higher than league average and his 15.5 K% was lower than average.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Lands on injured list
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Ragans was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left calf strain Monday.
Ragans made his final start of the year against the Angels on Saturday and allowed a run on four hits and a walk while striking out two in five innings to settle for a no-decision. Even though he wouldn't have pitched again in 2022, he's dealing with a calf issue that will force him to finish the year on the IL. It's not yet clear whether the injury will have any impact on his offseason program.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Takes loss Sunday
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Ragans (0-3) took the loss Sunday, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and one walk over five innings against the Guardians. He struck out three.
After facing the minimum through two innings, Ragans ran into trouble in the third. The Guardians recorded four singles in the inning, which along with a throwing error, led to Cleveland scoring four runs. Ragans made it through the next two innings with relative ease, but it wasn't enough to avoid taking his third loss. Sunday marked his first start of at least five innings since Aug. 17, a trend he will try to continue in his next start, which will likely come against the Angels this weekend.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Escapes with no-decision
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Ragans allowed two runs on seven hits and no walks while striking out five over 4.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Angels on Tuesday.
Ragans limited the damage to a Matt Duffy two-run home run in the second inning, which went down the left-field line. This was Ragans' fourth straight no-decision, and it was also his longest of three starts since returning from a calf injury. The southpaw lowered his season ERA to 5.40 with a 1.57 WHIP and 22:14 K:BB, and he notably avoided issuing a walk for the first time in seven outings. He's projected for a weekend start at home versus the Guardians.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Hit hard in home start
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Ragans took a no-decision Tuesday versus the Athletics, allowing seven runs on eight hits and a walk while striking out five in four innings.
Ragans got a bit more stretched out, throwing 70 pitches (48 strikes) in his second start back from a calf injury. He's had trouble with Oakland through his first two starts versus the Rangers' divisional rivals, allowing 10 runs across nine innings. The 24-year-old southpaw is clearly still adjusting to the majors with a 5.68 ERA and 1.58 WHIP through 25.1 innings, though he was able to walk just one batter for the second time in six starts. He's projected for a home start versus the Angels next week.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Drawing another start
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Ragans is slated to start Tuesday's game against the Athletics at Globe Life Field.
Ragans returned to action last week following a brief stint on the 15-day injured list with a calf strain, pitching three scoreless frames in a start in Houston on Sept. 7. Because he didn't head out on a minor-league rehab assignment beforehand, Ragans tossed only 49 pitches in the outing, and he could be limited to around the 60-to-75-pitch range this week when he makes his second straight turn through the rotation.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Decent in return
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Ragans (calf) issued three walks and struck out three over three scoreless and hitless innings in a no-decision versus the Astros on Wednesday.
Ragans missed a couple of weeks with a minor left calf strain. The southpaw was solid, though a little wild, in his return. He threw 49 pitches (26 strikes) in this outing, and he's yet to complete more than five innings in any of his five major-league appearances. He has a 3.80 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and 12:13 K:BB through 21.1 innings for the Rangers. Ragans should continue to get an extended look in the rotation, and he's projected for a favorable home start versus the Athletics next week.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Activated prior to start
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Ragans (calf) was reinstated from the 15-day injured list ahead of Wednesday's start against the Astros.
Ragans landed on the IL in late August due to a left calf strain, but his injury wasn't considered serious, and he'll rejoin the Rangers' rotation following a relatively brief absence. Over his first four major-league starts, the 24-year-old has posted a 4.42 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 18.1 innings.
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Rangers' Cole Ragans: Confirmed as Wednesday's starter
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Ragans (calf) will start Wednesday's game in Houston, Levi Weaver of The Athletic reports.
This was anticipated earlier in the week and now we have confirmation. Ragans logged a 4.42 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and 9:10 K:BB in 18.1 innings across his first four MLB starts.
