KC Royals’ Cole Ragans gets opening day start: ‘One of the things you dream about’

The Kansas City Royals will open the 2024 season with a familiar face on the mound. On Sunday, the Royals tabbed left-hander Cole Ragans as their opening day starter.

Ragans will pitch against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium on March 28. He is the Royals’ fourth different opening day starter in the last seven seasons.

“It’s hard to put everything into words,” Ragans, 26, said. “I mean, it’s one of those things that you kind of dream about. Opening day is a big deal.”

Ragans was electric last season. He posted a 2.64 ERA in 12 starts with the Royals after being acquired in the middle of the season from the Texas Rangers. Ragans emerged as a future ace after recording 113 strikeouts in 96 innings pitched.

Not that he was expecting Sunday’s news. In fact, he was a little nervous when he was called into Royals manager Matt Quatraro’s office, where he also met with general manager J.J. Picollo and pitching coach Brian Sweeney.

“They asked me what I was doing on the (March) 28th,” Ragans said. “And you know, they asked me if I wanted to pitch. Obviously, heck yeah, I do. That’s pretty much how it went. I was pretty nervous when I walked in there.”

The emotions overcame him later. Ragans notified his wife of the news and they shared a special moment together.

“I actually texted her and then I made up something because I’d rather tell her in person,” Ragans said. “So, I got home and told her I made the team. And then I was like, ‘I’m starting opening day.’ It kind of brought both of us to tears a little bit. But it’s special. It’s going to be an exciting day.”

Ragans will spearhead a revamped starting rotation. The Royals invested in veteran pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo this offseason. The duo will pair with Ragans and Brady Singer in the rotation.

The Royals haven’t named a fifth starter. There is an open competition for the role between pitchers Jordan Lyles, Alec Marsh, Daniel Lynch IV and Anthony Veneziano, among others.

Ragans will be looking to continue his 2023 resurgence. The southpaw has rebounded from two Tommy John surgeries in his career. Last season, he visited Tread Athletics in Charlotte, North Carolina to build his core strength.

The offseason training paid dividends. Ragans saw a noticeable jump in velocity as his average fastball increased from 92.1 mph to 96.6 mph. That led to Ragans posting a strikeout per nine innings rate of 10.6.

“I just felt like I went out there and competed,” he said. “I filled it up. Yeah, I had my walks here and there. I feel like overall my goal is six-plus innings. Save the bullpen as much as I can and get as deep as I can in the game. I felt like for the most part last year, I did solid with it.”

Ragans reached his peak in August. He went 3-1 and posted a 1.72 ERA in six starts and was named the American League Pitcher of the Month.

Ragans recorded 53 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings during that stretch, the second-most strikeouts by a Royals pitcher in a given month. Only Dennis Leonard had more (in June 1977).

Ragans characterized last August as his “best month of baseball.” Now, he will look to put together a full season of production.

“We’re excited for Cole,” Picollo said. “He clearly earned this opportunity based on what he did the second half of last year. Everybody knows he is a great teammate. I know our entire staff is going to be happy he is our opening day starter.”

This spring, Ragans has worked to develop a two-seam fastball. He hopes to add it to an arsenal that includes his fastball, slider, cutter, curveball and changeup.

Ragans also refined his slider last season, throwing it 164 times, per Baseball Savant. That proved useful as the Ragans produced a 40% whiff rate with the pitch.

“We feel like this is the right decision for us to match up the best we can over the whole series with the Twins,” Quatraro said.

The Royals considered going with a more veteran starter on opening day. There was a discussion about utilizing either Wacha or Lugo in the role. Instead, Ragans gets a vote of confidence from the organization.

“There was a feeling from the get go that Cole deserved this based on what he did last year,” Piccolo said. “Given whether it’s the story, what he went through as a player to get to this moment, but more so, he was pretty dominant last year. I mean, he was American League Pitcher of the Month.

“So, it’s hard to ignore that. And I think from a morale standpoint, it sends a good message to the rest of the team.”

The Royals continued Cactus League play on Sunday. Ragans tossed 4 2/3 innings against the Milwaukee Brewers at Surprise Stadium, allowing five hits and four runs while striking out six batters.

Now hell seek to finish the spring on a high note. He’s grateful for the chance to take the ball at Kauffman Stadium in less than two weeks.

“It’s the hard work I put in throughout the years, through the Tommy Johns, through the offseasons, all of that,” Ragans said. “This is what I worked for: to be a big-league starter and to be a guy a team believes in that I can help win each and every day.”