Predicting the Royals' 2024 Rotation: Expect Big Improvement
By Joe Summers
3. Cole Ragans
The greatest trade of the 2023 season, by any time, landed the Royals a legitimate franchise cornerstone that suddenly will likely be the No. 3 starter at best. What a great offseason!
Ragans put together one of the best two-month stretches for any pitcher in Royals' history, compiling a 2.64 ERA with Kansas City while striking out 89 batters in 71.2 innings. He's got a ridiculous fastball, averaging 96.5 MPH with an opponent expected batting average of .193.
Cole Ragans is looking like an absolute STAR. An incredible steal for the Royals who got him from Texas in a deal for Aroldis Chapman.
— Gomer (@GomesDaLegend) September 4, 2023
1.51 ERA 63 Ks and 0.97 WHIP over 47.2 Innings
And all it took was them giving Chapman a $3 million flyer that they only paid half of pic.twitter.com/2o9VkaVvyp
This guy is a bonafide stud.
We entered the postseason believing Ragans would be the Royals' ace, but now he's penciled in at the No. 3 spot.
No matter how you look at the offseason, that's an incredible victory for the organization. We have at least three starting pitchers fans can trust, and that's three more than we've had in recent years.
If this next guy develops, Kansas City may have one of the best starting rotations in the American League.