Cole Ragans bright spot in a poor season


The end of the season for the Royals couldn’t come soon enough. The team had the second worst record in franchise history at 56-106. The 2023 team tied the 2005 team for the worst record in franchise history. Zack Greinke was unfortunately part of both the 2005 and 2023 team's. 
Kansas City's rotation was about what I expected heading into the season—average. A trade with Texas was one that many probably didn't expect to go so well for the boys in blue. I honestly thought the team would acquire a pitcher that would be a mid rotation piece. Instead, Cole Ragans became the team's ace in the rotation this past year. 
Why did the Rangers give up on the left hander so early? The 25-year old unfortunately wasn't able to stay healthy while part of the Rangers’ organization. After just two years, the former first round draft pick was sidelined due to Tommy John surgery twice. The Royals certainly took a big risk acquiring an injury prone arm for a hard throwing pitcher like Aroldis Chapman who was having a great season for the Royals. 

Entering spring training with the Rangers, it wasn't clear if Ragans was going to be part of the rotation: "Our hope is that we have our five guys ready to start the season," Young said. "If we do decide to go to a six-man, Cole is certainly in consideration there." While the Rangers weren't certain that Ragans was going to be part of the rotation entering the season, he certainly was a big part of the Royals starting five. Entering the season, before Ragans arrived, Kansas City’s rotation wasn't that impressive: 

1. Brady Singer 

2. Zack Greinke 

3. Jordan Lyles 

4. Brad Keller 

5. Daniel Lynch 

Unfortunately, some of the issues in the rotation were due to injuries and struggles to Brad Keller and Daniel Lynch. However, once Ragans arrived in Kansas City, the rotation became an interesting part of a struggling team. Ragans became the ace pretty quickly. In fact, he did well enough to cement his spot in the rotation according to Royals beat writer Anne Roger's article from August 29th. The title of the article says everything: "Ragans twirls another gem to cement 2024 rotation spot." 

The left hander's stats were great and could have been better if our bullpen knew how to hold onto a lead. Ragans ended the season with good stats with an ERA of 3.47 with a record of 7-5. But as a member of the Royals, he ended the season with an ERA of 2.64. 

The 2023 season was one that Ragans brought fans to games even though most of the team was a big disappointment. Although Ragans only started 12 games for the Royals, he was lights out. The right hander would have had a better record if it weren't for the poor bullpen. That might be an understatement for a bullpen that was one of the worst in the league. Kansas City's bullpen ranked 29th of 30, only behind the Rockies. 

I believe if the Royals can improve the bullpen this offseason, they could be a competitive team with Ragans leading the starting rotation. KC won’t exactly be a postseason team, but they certainly can't be worse than when this year's bullpen took the field.











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