Fastball

Kansas City Royals' Lefty Moving Up the Ranks in Team History

Though he's only been in Kansas City for a year, left-hander Cole Ragans is moving up the ranks of team history very quickly.

Brady Farkas

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans (55) throws in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 14.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans (55) throws in the second inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 14. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Though he's only been in Kansas City for about a year at this point, Royals' lefty Cole Ragans is quickly moving up the ranks in team history.

Per @JayHayKid of the "Baseball is Dead" podcast on social media:

Cole Ragans now has 4 career starts with 11+ K, tying Dennis Leonard for the 3rd-most such starts in Royals franchise history. Ragans is behind only Kevin Appier (11) and Bret Saberhagen (6).

In a Monday win over the Miami Marlins, Ragans tossed 6.0 innings of one-run ball. He allowed only four hits and three walks while striking out 11. He's not 5-5 on the season with a 3.03 ERA and he's pushing for his first All-Star Game selection later this summer.

If he is able to make the American League team, it will be a cool twist of fate. The game is being held at Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers. It was Texas who traded Ragans to the Royals last season in a deal for reliever Aroldis Chapman.

Since getting to Kansas City and becoming a fixture in the rotation, Ragans is 10-7. Lifetime, he's 12-13 with a 3.54 ERA. Armed with electric stuff, he's struck out 120 batters in 98.0 innings this year. He was a first-round pick of the Rangers in the 2016 draft out of the Florida high school ranks.

The Royals enter play on Tuesday at 43-37 on the year. They are trying to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season. They'll take on the Marlins again at 8:10 p.m. ET.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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