Cole Ragans
#55 SP · Royals
Height
6'4"
Weight
190 lbs
Age
28
College
N/A
Draft
2016, Rd 1, #30
Experience
4 yrs
Bats/Throws
L/L
A+
A
B
—
Fan Verdict
Grade this player:
Career StatsA
| Year | Team | GP | ERA | W-L | K | WHIP | IP | SV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career |  | 91 | 3.755962 | 22-24 | 506 | 1.2066772 | 0.0 | 0 |
Current Contract
Length
3 years
Total Value
$13.3M
Guaranteed
$8.0M
AAV
$4.4M/yr
Guaranteed %60%
Performance Analysis
A
FCA+
Cole Ragans has quietly established himself as a franchise-caliber starter, earning an A performance grade that reflects elite production from Kansas City's rotation. The 28-year-old lefty is flying under the radar despite what appears to be dominant stuff, with his fourth-year development curve suggesting he's hit his prime window as a front-line arm. What's most impressive about Ragans' season is how he's maintained his effectiveness even through early struggles that coincided with team-wide issues, showing the mental toughness and consistency you want from a rotation anchor. The former first-round pick (30th overall in 2016) has clearly figured something out mechanically or approach-wise, as evidenced by the professional respect he's garnering from analysts who break down his pitch mix and betting markets that consistently back his starts. While the media narrative remains measured — treating him as a solid mid-rotation piece rather than recognizing his elite-level impact — Ragans is significantly outproducing his public profile, which creates fascinating value for the Royals in both performance and potential trade scenarios. This is exactly the type of under-the-radar ace that small-market teams need to identify and lock up before the league catches on to what Kansas City already has.
Fan & Media Sentiment
B
Positive
NegativeNeutralPositive
Cole Ragans sits at a B on the sentiment meter right now — still positive overall, but slightly softer than where it was a month ago, and the reason why is straightforward. A 92 mph liner off his throwing hand triggered a brief wave of concern among Royals fans and the broader baseball media, enough to knock the narrative off its steadier footing even after manager Matt Quatraro confirmed he expected Ragans to make his next start on schedule. The good news is that his on-field performance remains firmly in A territory — betting markets and expert analysts have continued to back him as a reliable arm, which tells you the baseball community isn't actually worried about who he is as a pitcher, just monitoring the durability question that the injury scare briefly raised. Kansas City's rotation management has also been active in the background, with the organization cycling through several roster moves at the pitching staff level, suggesting the front office is building depth around their better starters rather than signaling any loss of faith in Ragans specifically. The Royals are riding a five-game winning streak at 17-19 with momentum building in the American League Central, and a healthy Ragans headlining that rotation is central to sustaining it. The narrative here is one of a brief detour rather than a structural shift — once he takes the mound cleanly in his next outing, expect the sentiment to tick back up toward where his actual performance deserves to have it.
Recent Games
| Date | OPP | Result | AB | H | R | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, 5/6 | vs CLE | L 1-3 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - |
| Sat, 5/2 | @ SEA | W 7-6 | - | - | - | 0 | - | - | - |
Transaction History
News & Buzz
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About this player
Cole Ragans is a player in his 4th MLB season listed at SP for the Royals. FanVerdicts maintains four independent grades for every MLB player on an active roster — Contract Value Index for the deal itself, Performance for on-field production, Sentiment for media and fan reaction, and Fan Verdict for community voting. Current grades for Cole Ragans: Contract Value Index A+, Performance A, Sentiment B, Fan Verdict pending.
Every grade refreshes on its own cadence as new data lands. Performance recalculates when MLB game stats post; Sentiment updates with new media coverage and fan discussion; Contract Value Index recomputes when contract terms change; Fan Verdict reflects live community voting on this profile. Contract details below show the structure (years, total value, average annual value, guarantees) the Contract Value Index grade is computed against.
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