SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Cole Ragans did not make it a secret when the Rangers made him their first-round pick in the 2016 Draft. The left-handed pitcher said he was a big fan of Rangers starter Cole Hamels, and that he had tried to emulate his pitching style.
Ragans, the Rangers No. 9 prospect per MLBPipeline.com, did more than that on Tuesday. He is with the Minor Leaguers in the Spring Training complex, but that is just down the hallway from the Major Leaguers. That gave him the opportunity to work out and throw with Hamels, giving him a chance to learn from one of the best.
"Today was a great opportunity for Cole to be able to go through a daily practice routine with a front-line Major League pitcher, and someone he has looked up to for many years," Rangers assistant farm director Paul Kruger said. "As we continue to look for ways to expose and teach our Minor League players Major League routines, the generosity of the Major League players, such as what Cole Hamels provided Cole Ragans today, is invaluable to their development for their short-term and long-term goals."
Ragans was taken with the 30th overall pick out of North Florida Christian High School (Tallahassee, Fla.). He pitched in just four games for the Arizona Rookie League Rangers in 2016 after signing with Texas.
Worth noting
• The Rangers are moving Yu Darvish to a simulated game on Thursday, instead of the Cactus League game against the Athletics. Mike Hauschild, the Rule 5 pick from the Astros, will start for the Rangers in the Cactus League game. He threw two scoreless innings against the Royals on Saturday. Darvish is scheduled for 45 pitches in the simulated game.
• Minor League second baseman Andy Ibanez just missed his second home run of the spring when he doubled off the top of the wall in Tuesday's 8-4 loss to the D-backs.
• Manager Jeff Banister was not happy with his team committing three errors against the D-backs. Said Banister, "We didn't catch the ball very well today. We've got to continue to work on that."