Cole Ragans

Cole Ragans

27-Year-Old PitcherSP
Kansas City Royals
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Ragans proved he could handle a full-time workload as his 32 starts tied for ninth most while his 186.1 innings were 12th highest in MLB. His effectiveness did not suffer as demonstrated by the 15th lowest xFIP and 11th best SIERA among qualified hurlers. It may have been variance and not fatigue but Ragans' walk rate and xFIP in September were his highest monthly marks. He didn't change his repertoire from the previous season with his change-up again being one of the league's best. However, the change-up was Ragans' second best offering with his four-seam fastball rated a tick better according to Fangraphs Pitch Value. However, his slider lost effectiveness, yielding upside if Ragans can recapture its Pitch Value without dropping elsewhere. Just 27 years old, Ragans checks all the boxes for a fantasy ace. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
From Preseason
$Signed a one-year contract with the Royals in February of 2024.
Set to start ALDS Game 2
PKansas City Royals
October 3, 2024
Ragans (calf) will start Monday in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Yankees, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Ragans exited his wild-card series start versus the Orioles after six shutout innings due to left calf cramps, but his readiness for the start of the ALDS doesn't seem to be in question. The left-handed Ragans -- who will be pitching on five days' rest -- will be preceded by Michael Wacha in Game 1.
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
94
Last 10 Games
95
Last 5 Games
92
How many pitches does Cole Ragans generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Cole Ragans generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-22%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-29%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-26%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-21%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .264 288 61 25 68 16 1 3
Since 2022vs Right .205 1040 302 99 191 33 6 25
2024vs Left .276 168 34 14 42 10 0 2
2024vs Right .195 594 189 53 104 22 3 13
2023vs Left .253 93 22 11 20 4 1 1
2023vs Right .187 299 91 30 50 6 1 6
2022vs Left .222 27 5 0 6 2 0 0
2022vs Right .282 147 22 16 37 5 2 6
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-10%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-16%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-21%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-32%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 3.63 1.22 166.0 11 9 0 10.4 3.1 1.0
Since 2022Away 3.28 1.16 156.1 7 8 0 9.8 3.8 0.6
2024Home 3.40 1.21 95.1 7 5 0 11.5 3.2 0.8
2024Away 2.87 1.08 91.0 4 4 0 10.0 3.3 0.7
2023Home 3.06 1.11 47.0 4 2 0 9.8 3.3 1.1
2023Away 3.86 1.20 49.0 3 3 0 11.4 4.4 0.2
2022Home 5.70 1.48 23.2 0 2 0 7.2 2.7 1.5
2022Away 3.86 1.47 16.1 0 1 0 4.4 5.0 1.1
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Cole Ragans compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.33
 
K/9
10.8
 
BB/9
3.2
 
HR/9
0.7
 
Fastball
95.5 mph
 
ERA
3.14
 
WHIP
1.14
 
BABIP
.302
 
GB/FB
1.15
 
Left On Base
74.0%
 
Exit Velocity
81.0 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
3.8%
 
Spin Rate
2457 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
20.2%
 
Swinging Strike
14.9%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
2018
Ragans was two different pitchers in 2023 for two different clubs. He worked solely as a reliever for Texas with too many walks and homers as part of a rather leaky bullpen. It was that situation which led the club to deal the talented lefty to Kansas City for Aroldis Chapman. The deal has been a win-win in the short term, but one Texas will regret for years to come if Ragans continues to shove as he did once reporting to the Royals. He was arguably one of the more valuable pitchers for fantasy managers with a stretch of pitching that will likely lead to him being one of the more pushed up pitchers on draft boards this offseason. He gained velocity, reduced his walks and homers and the outcomes matched the potential. The remaining issue is that he still pitches for a bad club which means he has to pitch his keister off to get those wins. Simply put, this is Nick Lodolo all over again. Don't get caught inhaling helium on draft day.
Ragans made his big-league debut with nine starts last season and posted a 4.95 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 27:16 K:BB over 40 innings. The Rangers revamped their starting rotation during the offseason with the additions of veterans Jacob deGrom, Andrew Heaney, Nate Eovaldi and Jake Odorizzi, leaving the 25-year-old with extremely slim odds of making the Opening Day roster. Ragans is unlikely to be much of a factor in Texas' rotation in 2023, and if he is it means the club is enduring some serious injury issues.
A projectable 6-foot-4 lefty, Ragans only logged 7.2 innings after the Rangers selected him with the 30th overall pick in 2016, so he entered 2017 as a bit of a mystery. However, we soon learned that his low-90s fastball and low-80s changeup already grade out as plus offerings, so naturally he was able to dominate hitters in the Northwest League. He had the worst walk rate in the league (14 percent) and still finished second in K-BB% (20.8 percent) because he was using that fastball/changeup combo to strike hitters out at an ace-like clip (34.8 percent). It's obvious that his command/control needs a lot of work, but he has the size, handedness and feel for a changeup that cannot be taught. His curveball also needs some work. Ragans has No. 2 starter upside and plenty of time to work on improving his weaknesses. Entering his age-20 season, approaching 100 innings would be a big accomplishment, as he still needs to show he can go deeper into games and eventually handle a starter's workload.
More Fantasy News
Leaves with cramps
PKansas City Royals
Calf
October 1, 2024
Ragans was pulled from Tuesday's wild-card game against Baltimore due to left calf cramps.
ANALYSIS
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Set for Game 1 start
PKansas City Royals
September 30, 2024
Ragans will start Game 1 of the wild-card series against the Orioles on Tuesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Not starting Sunday
PKansas City Royals
September 28, 2024
Ragans will not start Sunday in Atlanta, as the team will go with Alec Marsh instead in the regular-season finale, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Punches out six in no-decision
PKansas City Royals
September 24, 2024
Ragans did not factor into the decision in Tuesday's 1-0 win at Washington, pitching six scoreless innings while yielding three hits and three walks. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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Strong start wasted Tuesday
PKansas City Royals
September 18, 2024
Ragans came away with a no-decision Tuesday, allowing one run on four hits and four walks over seven innings in a 3-1 extra-inning loss to the Tigers. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Named AL's best in August
PKansas City Royals
September 5, 2023
Ragans posted 3-1 record with a 1.72 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 53:9 K:BB over 36.2 innings in August and was named the American League Pitcher of the Month.
ANALYSIS
The 25-year-old started off September on a similar note, as he picked up the win Monday versus the White Sox after he allowed just one hit in six scoreless frames. Ragans was acquired by the Royals from the Rangers in the Aroldis Chapman trade in June, and he's quickly established himself in the rotation with his new organization. The rookie left-hander had a 5.92 ERA in 17 outings out of the bullpen for Texas prior to the trade, but he's been a dominant rotation piece in Kansas City with just eight earned runs allowed and a 63:11 K:BB across eight starts.
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