As a kid, Cole Ragans dreamed of pitching on Opening Day. But there were times after Tommy John surgery he wondered if that dream would ever come true.
Ragans, though, will get his wish as he’ll take the mound when the Royals play the Minnesota Twins at 3:10 p.m. Thursday at Kauffman Stadium.
“This has got to be ranked up there pretty high,” Ragans said Wednesday. “Like I said this is kind of something you dream about as a kid. Through the TJ’s and stuff there were moments I was like, ‘Is this all worth it?’ But going through it now and looking back obviously it was very worth it. Worth every second. Now I’m just super excited and ready to get going.”
The Royals acquired the left-handed Ragans in late June last season from the Texas Rangers for Aroldis Chapman. After pitching out of the bullpen for the Rangers, Ragans made his Royals’ debut in mid-July and immediately joined the rotation. Ragans went 5-2 with a 2.64 ERA in 12 starts covering 71 2/3 innings. Ragans allowed just 50 hits while striking out 89 and walking 27.
The hard-throwing Ragans, whose fastball can reach triple digits, also has a hard slider and changeup. The former first-round pick pitched five games this spring training and had a 6.75 ERA, but the Royals liked the way he pounded the strike zone.
“For the most part I felt like I filled it up with all my stuff,” Ragans said. “I’ve had problems with that in the past, so just filling up the strike zone. I like where all my stuff is at and now it’s just running with it.”
The Royals are hoping to carryover some momentum from their biggest offseason spending spree in team history. The club signed Bobby Witt Jr. to an 11-year contract and brought in veteran pitchers Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha to beef up the rotation.
The starting five was only a part of the organizational revamp as only seven players from last year’s season opener are still on the team. Royals second-year manager Matt Quatraro said even with all the new faces the team gelled quickly in spring training.
“It didn’t take long for it to feel like a cohesive group,” Quatraro said. “And that speaks to the character and the makeup of the guys we brought in but also the guys that were here that welcomed them.”
That includes Ragans, who Quatraro believes has the potential to be one of the game’s best pitchers.
“First and foremost, he has top-of-the rotation stuff,” Quatraro said. “But he’s also a top-of-the rotation person when it comes to his mentality, his approach, how he prepares, how he handles adversity. And we expect great things from him. We feel like it’s a great opportunity to get him out there.”
