TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN — The Rays snapped a season-high seven-game losing streak and a five-game home losing streak with a 10-4 victory over Atlanta last Sunday to close out the first half…Tampa Bay netted four runs in the opening frame, punctuated by a two-run homer off the bat of 3B Isaac Paredes (2-for-4, HR, 2RBI, 2R)…the Rays tacked on three more runs in the fourth, including DH Yandy Díaz’s (3-for-5, 2B, HR, 4RBI, 2R) 13th homer of the campaign, snapping a 34-game homerless drought…Díaz recorded a two-run double in the eighth to close out the scoring.
RHP Zach Eflin (5.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 5SO) improved to 10-4, including 9-1 in 10 starts at Tropicana Field, becoming the 10th Rays pitcher (12th instance) to collect 10+ wins before the All-Star break.
The Rays recorded a sellout for the third consecutive game…it marks the first time Tropicana Field has been sold out for three straight games since capacity was reduced to 25,025 in 2019…the last time the Rays drew three consecutive crowds of 25,025+ within a single season was 4/17-20, 2014.
THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS — The Rays will play 69 games following the All-Star break, the fewest in the majors…entering play yesterday, their second-half opponents had combined for a .512 winning pct., the second-highest mark in the AL behind Los Angeles-AL (.514) and sixth-highest in the majors…of the remaining contests, only 21 are against clubs that are currently under the .500 mark…since 2019, the Rays .592 (126-87) post-All-Star break winning pct. is second best in the AL (excl. 2020), behind Houston (.642, 138-77).
Today’s doubleheader marks Tampa Bay’s 39th all-time twin bill and second at Kauffman Stadium, having been swept in a pair of games at this ballpark on 7/7/15 (9-5, 7-1)…the Rays are 7-14-17 all-time in doubleheaders (4-10-9 in split DHs).
RANDY RAKES — Fifth-seeded Randy Arozarena finished as runner-up to champion No. 6 TOR Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at the 2023 T-Mobile Home Run Derby on Monday night…he defeated No. 4 TEX Adolis García in the opening round, 24-17, after clubbing five homers in the 30-second bonus time…in the semi-finals, he topped No. 1 CWS Luis Robert thanks to a 35-homer barrage, including 12 in the final 46 seconds of regulation time and another five in the bonus round…he came up just short in the championship bout, falling 25-23 to Guerrero Jr.…after a slow start, Arozarena launched 15 homers in the final 90 seconds, but was unable to record either of the two 440+ foot homers required to gain an extra 30 seconds of allotted bonus time.
Arozarena tallied 82 total homers, the second most by any particpant in the Derby’s history, behind Guerrero Jr.’s 91 long balls in Cleveland in 2019…his 35 homers in the semi-finals are tied for the fourth most in a single Derby round, trailing only SEA Julio Rodríguez (41HR, 2023 first round), Guerrero Jr. (40HR, 2019 semi-finals) and LAD Joc Pederson (39 HR, 2019 semi-finals).
2023 DRAFT RUNDOWN — The Rays made 21 selections in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, including first-rounder SS Brayden Taylor, a TCU product (No. 19 overall)…SS Adrian Santana (No. 31) out of Doral Academy (FL) and Mississippi State OF Colton Ledbetter (No. 55) rounded out Tampa Bay’s day one draftees…fifth-rounder (No. 156) RHP Trevor Harrison was drafted out of J.W. Mitchell (FL) High School, located approximately 30 miles north of Tropicana Field…this year’s signing deadline is 7/25 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
The Rays chose a total of 14 pitchers (10 RHP) and seven position players…they drafted 16 collegiate players, one junior college player and four high schoolers.
FIRST-HALF FEATS — Tampa Bay turned in the AL’s best pre-All-Star break record for the first time in club history, setting franchise marks for first-half wins (58) and winning pct. (.624)…the Rays opened the season on a 13-game winning streak, becoming the fourth team in MLB history to begin a season 13-0, joining the 1987 Milwaukee Brewers (13-0), 1982 Atlanta Braves (13-0) and 1884 St. Louis Maroons (20-0)…they homered in each of their first 22 games, the longest season-opening streak in MLB history.
Tampa Bay’s 14-game home winning streak to begin the year was the longest season-opening streak in the Modern Era (since 1900).…in all of MLB history, the Rays matched the 1885 Chicago White Stockings for the fourth-longest such streak, trailing only the 1880 White Stockings (21G), 1886 Detroit Wolverines (18G) and 1884 St. Louis Maroons (16G).
The Rays are one of six clubs since the first All-Star Game in 1933 to have a 13+ game winning streak and a 7+ game losing streak before the Midsummer Classic… it was done last by two teams in 1991 – the Minnesota Twins won 15 straight from 6/1-16 and lost seven in a row from 4/13-20, and the Texas Rangers won 14 straight from 5/12-27 and lost eight straight from 6/1-10 (Elias).
THUNDER AND LIGHTNING — The Rays are the sixth team in history to lead AL outright in both homers and stolen bases at the All-Star break since the Midsummer classic’s inception in 1933…they join the 2015 Houston Astros, 1984 Oakland Athletics, 1962 Detroit Tigers and both the 1955 and 1956 New York Yankees (Elias).
The last AL team to turn the trick over the course of an entire season was Cleveland in 1995…in total, four teams have accomplished the feat — along with Cleveland, the 1931, 1933 and 1938 Yankees each paced the AL in both homers and steals.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE — Excluding position players, the Rays have used 31 different pitchers, tied with Cincinnati for the most in the majors…they have used 14 starters, tied with Detroit and Oakland for second most in MLB behind Kansas City (15)…at the All-Star break, Rays pitching had logged an MLB-leading 823.0 IP, ahead of Miami (818.2IP).
The Rays have placed 14 different pitchers on the injured list, tied for third most in the majors behind Los Angeles-NL (16) and Cincinnati (15), per Spotrac…however, only two Rays position players have spent time on the IL, tied with Arizona for the fewest in the majors.
Despite this, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff remains among the best in baseball in several categories, including opp. AVG (1st, .227), opp. SLG (1st, .375), opp. OBP (3rd, .301), opp. OPS (3rd, .676), WHIP (3rd, 1.20) and ERA (4th, 3.70)
TODAY’S GAME ONE STARTER: RHP TYLER GLASNOW (2-3, 4.10)
TODAY’S START — The right-hander makes his ninth start of the season and his fourth on the road…will be searching for his first win since 6/14 at Oakland after going 0-3 with a 4.79 ERA (20.2IP, 11ER) in his last four starts since the victory…despite his three-game losing streak, Glasnow has struck out 38 batters against just five walks during the skid.
LAST TIME OUT — Took the loss on 7/7 vs. Atlanta after tossing 5.2 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits and one walk with eight strikeouts…Glasnow struck out four Braves hitters in the second inning after Marcell Ozuna reached on a wild pitch, marking the fourth instance of a Rays pitcher recording four strikeouts in a frame…Glasnow also accomplished the feat on 4/23/21 vs. Toronto (T1st).
FACING ROYALTY — In three career starts against Kansas City, Glasnow has not received a decision, pitching to a 2.00 ERA (18.0IP, 4ER) with 31 strikeouts against six walks while holding opponents to a .188 (12-for-64) average.
He faced the Royals earlier this season on 6/25 and threw 5.0 innings of one-run ball, scattering four hits and one walk with a season-high 12 strikeouts.
Glasnow matched a career high with 8.0 scoreless innings on 5/26/21 vs. Kansas City at Tropicana Field, striking out 11 batters.
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE — Glasnow has made 11 appearances (8 starts) against AL Central opponents, going 2-2 with a 1.89 ERA (52.1IP, 11ER).
Since making his first appearances vs. an AL Central opponent in 2018, his 1.89 ERA is the fifth lowest in the majors (min. 50IP) against the division, trailing CLE Emmanuel Clase (1.53), LAA Shohei Ohtani (1.79), NYM Justin Verlander (1.80) and STL Steven Matz (1.87).
STRIKEOUT ARTIST — Since making his season debut on 5/27, Glasnow has 64 strikeouts across 41.2 innings (13.82 SO/9.0IP)…his 64 strikeouts in that span are tied with MIL Corbin Burnes and TOR Kevin Gausman for third most in the majors, behind SD Blake Snell (78) and ATL Spencer Strider (69).
Glasnow fanned 11+ batters in consecutive starts from 6/25-7/1, becoming the first Tampa Bay pitcher to accomplish the feat since Blake Snell from 4/2-8, 2019…the longest streak of consecutive 11+ strikeout starts in Rays history belongs to Chris Archer, who did so in in three straight starts (5/27-6/7, 2015).
LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT — He is holding right-handed batters to a .162 (12-for-74) average, allowing just four extra-base hits (3 2B, one HR) and a .243 SLG… lefties have seen greater success against Glasnow through his first eight starts, posting a .271 (23-for-85) average with 14 XBH (6HR) and a .588 SLG.
Since 5/27, his .175 AVG against right-handed hitters is tied for the fourth-lowest mark in the AL (min. 50AB)…in the same timeframe, his .588 SLG vs. left-handed batters is the fifth-highest clip in the AL (min. 75AB).
For his career, Glasnow has been effective facing batters on both sides of the plate, holding righties to a .221 average compared to a nearly identical .222 vs. lefties.
ADVANCED TALK — Glasnow utilizes his curveball 21.3 pct. of the time and is limiting opposing batters to a .133 (6-for-45) average and .289 slugging pct. on the offering…of his 64 strikeouts on the season, 32 have come via the curveball.
Glasnow’s 38.6 pct. whiff rate ranks third in the majors since his season debut on 5/27 (min. 200 pitches swung at), behind SD Blake Snell (41.2%) and ATL Spencer Strider (39.7%)…his 36.4 pct. strikeout rate in that span leads the AL, trailing only Snell (42.9%) in all of baseball (min. 100BF).
On 6/25 vs. Kansas City, he collected a season-high 26 whiffs, third most in any game of his career (most: 27, 2x, last: 6/8/21 vs. WSH)… it tied the second-most whiffs by any pitcher through the first five innings of a game in the Pitch Tracking Era (since 2008), trailing only Shane McClanahan earlier this season (28 on 4/22/23 vs. CWS).
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
LET’S PLAY 2!: Following last night’s rain out, the Royals and Rays will play a split doubleheader today, with Game 1 starting at 1:10 p.m. CT and Game 2 beginning at 6:10 p.m. CT…today marks Kansas City’s first doubleheader of this season after they played four in 2022, which were their most since 2018 (4)…the Royals have played 2 games on one day 241 times in franchise history, and they’ve swept 74 times (30.7%), have been swept 54 times (22.4%) and have split 113 (46.9%)…today marks only their 28th split (day/night) doubleheader in franchise history, and the Royals are 6-6-15 in the previous 27, including a sweep of Detroit on July 11, 2022.
The Royals and Rays have played twice on one day only two times before and the Royals swept them both… the most recent was on July 7, 2015 here at Kauffman Stadium, where Alex Gordon combined for 7 hits and 6 RBI and Paulo Orlando hit a walk-off grand slam in Game 2 to seal the split doubleheader sweep… on May 1, 2019 here in Kansas City, the Royals won both games of a traditional double dip vs. the Rays.
The Royals have not lost twice on the same day since May 25, 2019 in a split doubleheader vs. the Yankees… they are 2-0-7 in nine doubleheaders since, including a win and three splits in four double dips last year.
Cole Ragans (No. 55) has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha and will serve as the 27th Man while starting Game 2 tonight…Ragans, 25, was acquired from Texas on June 30 in a three-player trade that sent Aroldis Chapman to the Rangers…Ragans made the Opening Day roster with Texas this season but was optioned to Triple-A on June 13…in 2 starts with Omaha since the trade, he has allowed 6 runs in 9.2 innings with 2 walks and 12 strikeouts…he last pitched on July 7 at Gwinnett, where he allowed 1 run in 5.0 innings.
Ragans will become the 16th different pitcher to start a game for the Royals this season, which are 2 more than the Rays, Tigers and Athletics for the most in the Majors…Kansas City’s 16 different starting pitchers (including Ragans tonight) are already 1 shy of the franchise record set by the 2006 Royals (17).
Thanks to the All-Star break and last night’s rain out, the Royals will have gone approximately 142 hours—almost six full days—from the final out on Sunday in Cleveland to first pitch in Game 1 today.
1ST HALF RECAP: The Royals won the 1st half finale last Sunday in a 4-1 decision over Cleveland to snap a 6-game losing streak, and emerge from the All-Star break 39 games under .500 (26-65) and 2 games ahead of Oakland for the worst record in the Majors…Kansas City’s 65 losses are the 2nd most at the All-Star break in franchise history, trailing only the 2018 season, when they went 27-68 in the 1st half en route to a 58-104 finish.
The Royals are 4-23-2 in series play, including 1-12-2 since mid-May with their only series win coming vs. the Dodgers from June 30-July 2, and one of their two splits coming vs. these Rays last month in St. Pete.
The Royals rank 29th in the Majors in runs scored (337) and 28th in runs allowed (492) for a -155 run differential, which is the 2nd worst in Major League Baseball ahead of Oakland’s -249 run differential.
The Royals have played 91 games and have 71 left, including 37 games at home and 34 on the road…of their 71 games remaining, the Royals will play 41 games vs. teams with a current record of .500 or better.
TRIP TRACKER: The Royals went 1-6 on their final trip before the All-Star break, including a 3-game sweep in Minnesota and 3 straight losses in Cleveland, before they salvaged the finale to avoid a winless trip…the Royals were outscored 42-18 (-24) on the trip—including 2 shutout losses—and were out-homered 10-5…the offense pounded out 10 runs on 22 hits over the last 2 games, after scoring 8 runs on 26 hits in the 1st 5 games.
The trip ended on a high note, as Ryan Yarbrough returned from an eight-week stay on the Injured List with 6.0 innings of 1-run ball, out-dueling former Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, who the Royals tagged for 4 runs in 6.1 innings…Kyle Isbel recorded his 2nd straight multi-hit game—including a game-tying homer off Bieber in the 5th—and made a diving catch in center with two men on to end the game.
DRAFT RECAP: The Royals selected 21 players earlier this week in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft, including 11 pitchers, four outfielders, three infielders, two catchers and one two-way player…of their 21 picks, 15 were from the college ranks and six were high school players…with their 1st-round pick (8th overall), on Sunday night, the Royals selected Blake Mitchell, a left-handed hitting catcher from Sinton High School in Texas, who met with the media at Kauffman Stadium this morning…Mitchell, who turns 19 next month, was named the Texas Gatorade Player of the Year in both 2022 and 2023…this season he hit .373 with 14 doubles, 6 HR and 41 RBI while reaching safely in 70% of his plate appearances…he recorded a 1.543 OPS, stole 35 bases and drew 51 walks to just 8 strikeouts…Mitchell, who is committed to LSU, is the Royals first prep position player selected in the 1st round since Bobby Witt Jr. in 2019.
2024 SCHEDULE: In conjunction with Major League Baseball, the Royals on Thursday announced their 2024 regular season schedule…Opening Day is scheduled for Thursday, March 28 at Kauffman Stadium vs. the Minnesota Twins…this will match 2019 for the earliest Opening Day in franchise history and will mark the eighth time in 10 years dating back to 2015 that the Royals will begin the regular season at home.
MR. BRIGHTSIDE: One of the bright spots in Kansas City’s 1st half was the play of 23-year-old shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who ranks 4th in the Majors with 27 stolen bases behind Esteury Ruiz (43), Ronald Acuña Jr. (42) and Wander Franco (28)…he also leads all American League players who are 23 or younger with 14 home runs…his combination of 27 steals and 14 homers are matched by only Acuña Jr., who has 42 steals and 21 homers…only one other Royals player has matched Witt Jr.’s combination of homers and steals before the break: Royals Hall of Famer Amos Otis, who also had 14 home runs and 27 stolen bases at the break in 1971, a season in which he was an American League All-Star and finished 8th in the AL MVP voting.
He’s the fourth player since 1901 with at least 14 HR and 27 steals before the break in his age-23 season (or younger), following Hanley Ramírez, who did it in 2007 (14 HR, 27 SB), César Cedeño, who did it in consecutive seasons from 1973-74 and Bobby Bonds, who did it in 1969 (20 HR, 27 SB).
Through 91 team games, Bobby is on pace for 24 HR and 48 steals, a combination that has never been matched in Royals history…in fact, that combination has been matched only 14 times in Major League history and most recently by Mike Trout during his Rookie of the Year 2012 campaign.
Over his last 40 games, Witt Jr. is batting .297 (46-for-155) with 16 extra-base hits (7 HR), 27 RBI, 13 steals, a .497 slugging pct. and .842 OPS.
RAY MATTER: The Royals and Rays are meeting for the second time in three weeks, including a 4-game series split last month in St. Pete…with 2 wins this weekend, the Royals would clinch their first season series over the Rays since 2017, when they went 4-3…they’ve lost four straight season series since, a stretch in which they’re 10-21 vs. the Rays including this season…the Royals took 2 of 3 vs. the Rays when they last visited Kansas City in July 2022.
GAME 1 STARTERS: RHP ALEC MARSH (0-2, 7.00)
ALEC MARSH is making his 3rd career start in Game 1 today vs. the Rays…he was selected by the Royals in the 2nd round of the 2019 Draft from Arizona State University.
ROUND TWO: Alec made his 2nd career start on July 5 in Minneapolis, where he held the Twins to 3 runs (2 earned) in 5.0 innings of a 5-0 shutout loss…he struck
out five batters for the 2nd consecutive start, however he yielded 3 hits and 3 walks in the defeat…with 1 out in the 1st inning, Marsh surrendered a solo home run to Edouard Julien, which handed Minnesota an early advantage, before 2 more runs scored in the 3rd on an RBI single, E7…he held the Twins in check from that point on, and teamed with first baseman Nick Pratto to erase 2 of his walks with pickoffs, both of which the Royals successfully overturned on challenges.
Became the first pitcher in club history with multiple pickoffs in 1 of his first 2 career outings, and he’s the first pitcher in the Majors to do so since Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco had 2 pickoffs on Sept. 8, 2009 (G1), his 2nd career outing.
He became the first Royals pitcher with multiple pickoffs in a game—at any point in his career—since James Shields (2 PO) on May 29, 2014 at Toronto.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Marsh on June 30 became the fourth Royal to make his Major League debut this year—and the second to do so on the last homestand—following right-handed pitcher James McArthur, who debuted on June 28 vs. Cleveland, infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor, who made his debut on June 17 vs. the Angels and left hander Austin Cox, who debuted on May 4 vs. the Orioles.
He became the 15th different starting pitcher the Royals have employed this season, which broke a tie with these Rays for the most starters used by any team this season…their 15 different starters are the most by any Royals team since the 2006 club used a franchise-record 17 different starting pitchers.
Alec also became the first Royals pitcher to start in his Major League debut since Angel Zerpa started his debut on Sept. 30, 2021 against the Guardians.
MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT: Alec opposed the Dodgers in his Majors debut on June 30 at Kauffman Stadium and he suffered the loss after allowing 5 runs on 6 hits—including 2 home runs from Mookie Betts—in 4.0 innings (plus 2 batters)… he surrendered 10 baserunners in those 4.0 frames, and half of the 6 hits he allowed were to Betts, while the rest of the Dodgers lineup went just 3-for-15 against him…Betts hit a leadoff home run in the 1st inning, a 1-out homer in the 3rd, before capping the scoring in Los Angeles’ 2-run, 37-pitch 4th with a 2-out RBI single…Marsh yielded a triple and a walk to begin the 5th inning and exited in favor of Amir Garrett, who allowed 1 inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly.
He recorded 5 strikeouts, which were the most by a Royal in his Major League debut since Brady Singer had 7 strikeouts in his debut on July 25, 2020.
CALM BEFORE THE STORM: Alec opened the season with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he made 11 starts for the Naturals and went 3-3 with a 5.32 ERA (28 ER in 47.1 IP) and 56 strikeouts (10.6 K/9)…his ERA was inflated by 3 starts on April 28, May 27 and June 8, over which he allowed a combined 15 earned runs in 11.0 innings (12.27 ERA), however he limited opponents to 3 earned runs or fewer in each of his remaining 8 starts, over which he recorded a 3.22 ERA (13 ER in 36.1 IP).
He earned a promotion to Triple-A Omaha on June 13, where he made 3 starts and recorded 5.0 innings with no more than 2 runs allowed in each of his outings…over those 3 starts, he recorded 19 strikeouts in 15.0 innings (11.4 K/9), but issued a total of 7 walks (4.2 BB/9).
At the time of his promotion to the Majors on June 30, he ranked among Royals farmhands in games started (T-1st, 14), wins (T-4th, 5), strikeouts (5th, 75), innings (5th, 62.1), ERA (9th, 4.62), opponents’ average (9th, .266) and WHIP (9th, 1.52)…boasted a 10.8 K/9 in 14 minor league starts.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE: In 2022, he made 25 of his career-high 27 starts with Northwest Arkansas and led Royals minor leaguers with 156 strikeouts in 124.1 innings (11.3 K/9)…his 147 strikeouts with the Naturals established a club record for the affiliate, a mark that also led the Texas League.
He was selected to participate in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game held at Dodger Stadium last season, however he did not pitch.
Over an 8-start span from April 30-June 11, 2022, he recorded 64 strikeouts in 34.1 innings (16.8 K/9), including back-to-back 10-strikeout starts on May 19 and 25…he finished the 2022 campaign with Triple-A Omaha, where he allowed just 2 runs in 10.0 innings over his 2 starts.
In 2020, he pitched for the Eastern Reyes del Tigre in the Constellation Energy League, which operated in Texas during July and August…he also participated in the Royals Postseason Camp at Kauffman Stadium in October, after the minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic.
GAME 2 STARTERS: LHP COLE RAGANS (2-3, 5.92)
COLE RAGANS is making his 1st start of the year and 10th of his career tonight vs. the Rays, in his Royals debut…Ragans, 25, was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 1st round (30th) of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of the North Florida Christian High School, and was acquired with 17-year-old Dominican outfielder Roni Cabrera on June 30 by Kansas City for left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB: Ragans joins the Royals for the first time after being acquired on June 30 from the Texas Rangers, with whom he posted a 5.92 ERA (16 ER in 24.1 IP) with 24 strikeouts in 17 relief appearances this season…Ragans broke camp with the big league club and began the year with 5 consecutive scoreless outings, covering 5.0 innings while allowing just 2 hits…overall, he allowed 16 runs across 24.1 innings in 17 games, with 13 of those runs (12 ER) coming in 3 outings.
Made 9 starts with Texas last year, going 0-3 with a 4.95 ERA (22 ER in 40.0 IP).
Ragans endured two stints on the 15-day Injured List last season due to a left calf strain, from Aug. 26-Sept. 7 and Oct. 3-end of season.
GLAD HE’S ON OUR SIDE: Ragans is making his Kauffman Stadium debut for the Royals, however he has already made 1 appearance vs. the Royals this year…the left hander earned the win for the Rangers at Globe Life Field on April 11 when he entered the game in the top of the 10th inning and allowed an inherited runner to score on a sacrifice fly by Michael Massey, but the Rangers walked off Kansas City courtesy of a Jonah Heim grand slam in the bottom half off Scott Barlow.
CHASING STORMS: Cole has only been in the Royals organization for a little over two weeks, and he has made 2 starts for Triple-A Omaha…he made his Storm Chasers debut on July 2 vs. Iowa and allowed 5 runs on 8 hits in 4.2 innings, but all 5 of those runs scored in the 5th inning, after he began with 4.0 scoreless frames…his 2nd outing came five days later at Gwinnett, where he held the Braves to just 1 run on 4 hits and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts, and earned his 1st win in the Royals organization.
In his most recent start on July 7, he opposed a Gwinnett lineup that featured former Major Leaguers Jesús Aguilar, Vaughn Grissom and Yolmer Sánchez, as well as MLB Pipeline’s No. 5 Braves prospect, Braden Shewmake.
Between Omaha and Triple-A Round Rock, he is 1-1 with a 4.19 ERA (9 ER in 19.1 IP), 27 strikeouts, 8 walks and a .239 opponents’ average (17-for-71).
MLB DEBUT: Ragans made 9 starts for the Rangers in 2022, including in his Major League debut on Aug. 4, 2022 vs. the White Sox, when he threw 5.0 innings and allowed just 1 unearned run on 3 hits with 4 walks and 3 strikeouts in a no decision.
He became just the 10th pitcher (2nd left hander) in Rangers history to log at least 5.0 innings without allowing an earned run in a Major League debut.
AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY: A 1st-round selection in 2016, Cole has overcome two Tommy John surgeries and missed the 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to become one of the top minor league pitchers in 2022…Ragans had his first Tommy John surgery on March 28, 2018 and felt discomfort while on a throwing program in early 2019, which led to another procedure on May 15, 2019.
He made his return in 2021 with 19 appearances (17) starts—his first game action since 2017—and was selected for the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
In 2022, he earned Texas’ Nolan Ryan Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award after going 8-5 with a 3.04 ERA (32 ER in 94.2 IP) and 113 strikeouts (10.7 K/9) in 18 starts between Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock.
WHAT A COLE-INCIDENCE!: Ragans hails from Tallahassee, Fla., where he graduated from North Florida Christian High School in 2016 before being selected by the Rangers with the 30th overall pick in the Draft…he is just the third player (2nd pitcher) to appear in the big leagues from NFCHS, joining infielder John Nogowski
(2021-22) and his namesake, right-handed pitcher Cole Sands, who debuted for the Minnesota Twins just three months before Ragans, on May 1, 2022 at Tampa Bay.
Ragans and Sands were teammates in 2013, 2014 and 2015, with Ragans being in his junior year in 2015 while Sands would go on to graduate that summer…the two can be seen in this photo, with Sands wearing No. 10 (back row, two to the left of coach) and Ragans donning No. 16 (back row, directly right of coach).
The Coles have not faced one another, yet, at the MLB level…Ragans was committed to Florida State University—the alma mater of Royals Manager of Media Relations extraordinaire, Logan Jones—before signing with Texas in 2016.
WIN SOME, LOSE SOME: Cole appeared in 9 games that the Rangers went on to win before being acquired by the Royals, and in those games, he spun 9.2 scoreless innings with 9 strikeouts and just 3 hits allowed (.100 opponents’ average)…however, in the 8 games he appeared in that the Rangers would lose, his ERA was 9.82 (16 ER in 14.2 IP) with 10 walks, 17 hits allowed and just 15 strikeouts (.288 opponents’ batting average).
RAYS AND SHINE: Ragans is making his 1st career start vs. the Rays, making them the 18th franchise he’s opposed in the Majors, and the third team in the American League East, joining the Orioles and Yankees…he is 0-1 in 3 relief appearances vs. AL East opponents, allowing 1 run over 3.2 innings of work.
Cole has faced a minor league affiliate of the Rays just once in his career, on June 23, 2021 with the Hickory Crawdads, the High-A affiliate of the Rangers…he held Tampa Bay’s Bowling Green affiliate to 2 runs on 2 hits in 5.0 innings with 5 strikeouts, but suffered a 2-1 loss to the Hot Rods.
