KC Royals get major boost by officially welcoming back Cole Ragans from injured list

After making a series of moves ahead of Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader, the Kansas City Royals made their required move ahead of Game 2.

After it was announced that Cole Ragans would be getting the ball for the day’s second contest, a move was inevitable in order to free up the spot on the active roster.

And the Royals announced that it would be the newly promoted Thomas Hatch making way for the ace’s return to the rotation.

KC Royals welcome Cole Ragans back to the rotation from injured list

The 2025 campaign has not necessarily been one to remember for Cole Ragans so far. At the very least he hasn't shown the same level of dominance that Royals fans have become accustomed to in recent years.

Through 45.2 innings pitched across nine starts, the 27-year-old southpaw is sporting a 4.53 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and .237 BAA.

These numbers aren't terrible but there nothing more then serviceable at best - perhaps something that you would find in the bottom slots of the rotation, but certainly not from one of the league’s most prominent aces.

That being said, there are a few metrics this season that are still comparable to (if not better than) the Cy Young-caliber season he put together in 2024 - when he finished fourth in American League voting.

He's been relatively unlucky this season, as he sports a 1.98 FIP - ranking him second amongst starters with 40+ innings pitched only to last season's unanimous AL Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal. He's also seen a major jump in his strikeout rate, as a 14.19 K/9 clip not only ranks him first in MLB under the same parameters, but constitutes a nearly 3.50 increase from his 10.77 mark a year ago. And he's also found a way to drop his walk rate from 3.24 in 2024 to 2.56 so far this season.

And Ragans still has his fair share of “Ragans-worthy starts” - as from April 2 to April 13, Ragans made three starts each of which he pitched 5 or more innings with 10 or more strikeouts. He’d add one more of those when he made his first start after his first groin injury of the season against the White Sox - when he pitched five innings of shut out ball with 11 strikeouts.

One can infer that perhaps a lot of Ragans’ struggles have come from nagging groin issues, and hopefully his recent stint on the IL has brought him back to full health.

Despite his struggles, the Royals rotation has remained one of the best in baseball, so one can only imagine how dominant they can be if Ragans becomes better than a mid-4.00 ERA arm.

As touched upon earlier, the corresponding move for Ragans’ return was designating Thomas Hatch for assignment.

It was a short-lived major league stint for Hatch, as his contract was only selected this morning ahead of Game 1, meaning he was simply cover in case things very went wrong in Thursdays matinee and a fresh arm was needed.

Game 2 of the doubleheader will serve as the series’ rubber match, with first pitch scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT.