Cole Ragans faced difficulties in his spring outing Thursday during the Cactus League game against the Texas Rangers. He gave up six runs on five hits, along with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, over just 1.2 innings, while managing to strike out two batters.
Early Hits and Home Runs Hurt Performance
The left-handed pitcher was hit hard right from the start, allowing the first three batters to reach base. That sequence culminated in a home run from Rangers’ cleanup hitter Jake Burger, quickly putting Kansas City behind by four runs in the opening frame. After Andrew Perez finished the inning for the Royals, Ragans returned for the second inning but surrendered another home run, this time to Wyatt Langford.
Fastball Velocity Remains Strong Despite Struggles
Although the outing was far from ideal for Ragans, his fastball velocity was not a concern. His pitch speed averaged 96.8 mph and reached a peak of 98.5 mph, demonstrating the arm strength that the Royals still rely upon despite the rough outing. Ragans endured a difficult 2025 season plagued by injuries, resulting in a 4.67 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP across 13 starts totaling 61.2 innings pitched.
Signs of Optimism from Underlying Metrics
Data from last season reveals some reasons for Kansas City to remain hopeful about Ragans’ future. Despite his challenges, he recorded a 2.50 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), a strong 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings rate, and an unusually high .354 Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP), all suggesting that luck was not in his favor. The Royals believe these factors indicate Ragans has the potential to rebound and approach the form he showed in 2024 during the 2026 season.
