It’s only been a little more than two weeks since Cole Ragans last took the mound for the Royals, but they’ve missed their ace left-hander when he’s healthy. On Saturday, he took a step toward a return with his first rehab start -- and looked a lot like the Ragans the Royals know.
Ragans tossed 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball for Triple-A Omaha on the road against the St. Paul Saints (Twins), needing 68 pitches (44 strikes) and working around three hits and one walk with three strikeouts. The Royals had him scheduled for four to five innings and/or 60-65 pitches, so he was right in line with that expectation Saturday.
Ragans has been on the 15-day injured list since May 8 (retroactive to May 7) with a left elbow impingement after he exited his start against the Guardians on May 6 after just three innings. Ragans was diagnosed with valgus extension overload – a condition commonly called “pitcher’s elbow” that’s characterized by back- and middle-elbow pain related to repetition in throwing athletes.
The Royals have been hopeful that Ragans’ IL stint would be on the shorter side, which made Saturday’s rehab outing a massive step in that direction.
Kealen Culpepper homered on the first pitch Ragans threw Saturday, a 93.6 mph fastball in the zone, but Ragans recovered well to get out of the inning without further damage. His fastball also hit 97.3 mph in that inning, and he averaged 95.2 mph with the pitch throughout his outing.
Ragans struck out Royce Lewis -- who was optioned to Triple-A by the Twins on Tuesday -- in the third inning, getting him to chase an 88 mph slider on the seventh pitch of the at-bat. He added two more strikeouts in the fourth, including one on a nasty slider to Matt Wallner. Ragans was at 64 pitches when he ended the fourth inning, but he went out for the fifth and retired Ricardo Olivar on a popup in foul territory to mark the end of his outing.
The Royals will see how Ragans feels after this start to determine his next steps. But given that he’s already built up to 60-plus pitches, that puts him in a good spot for a shorter rehab assignment. He’s eligible to return now, so he could slot back into the rotation next week once he’s fully rested after Saturday. But the Royals could have him make another rehab start just to make sure everything is feeling good before he returns to Kansas City.
“It’s all about health,” manager Matt Quatraro said before Saturday’s big league game in Kansas City. “If he can feel good with all of his pitches and throw aggressively and get to that 65-pitch count, hopefully, that’s what we’re looking for.”