KC Royals promising prospect duo makes return to majors amid injury drama

The Kansas City Royals rotation has seen better days. Not only was Cole Ragans pulled from his Friday evening start prematurely with groin tightness, but they were already set to be shorthanded after it was reported that Seth Lugo would miss his start on Saturday due to right middle finger inflammation.

Jackson Stone of MLB.com reported on Friday that manager Matt Quatraro was hopeful that Lugo would be able to avoid hitting the injured list. And after avoiding the IL with a groin strain earlier this season, the hope amongst the Royals faithful was that Ragans could do the same again, considering it was just groin tightness this time around.

Those wishes weren't answered though, as both All-Star hurlers would find themselves subject to the 15-day IL, the team announced on Saturday.

A pair of promising prospects in Triple-A in Noah Cameron and Evan Sisk will get the call to replace the top-end duo on the active roster, with the former getting the nod to take Lugo's turn in the rotation Saturday afternoon.

Noah Cameron and Evan Sisk set to make their returns to the majors

This isn't the first instance that Cameron has been promoted as cover for one of this staff's All-Stars, after he made his debut on April 30 when he filled in for Ragans amidst his first groin ailment.

And the Royals will hope Cameron can be just as effective this time around, after he dazzled in his debut. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and ended the night going 6 1/3 innings one-hit shutout ball.

The hometown kid will now get his chance to showcase his skills at Kauffman Stadium for the first time.

He's put together a solid season in Triple-A Omaha, throwing to a 3.31 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and .207 BAA in 32 2/3 innings across seven starts. This comes of the back of an impressive season across the upper minors in 2024 (split between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha), where he threw to a 3.08 ERA and 3.28 FIP in 128 1/3 innings across 25 starts.

The question now will be how long he can stay up this time, given there were corresponding IL placements made this time around unlike last month, which quickly forced him back to Omaha just a day after his debut as a result.

The Royals will also look to get a boost in the bullpen from Evan Sisk, who like Cameron, was also impressive in his first taste of major league baseball last month. In 2 1/3 innings across two appearances, the southpaw threw to a 0.00 ERA. 1.39 FIP and .222 BAA.

Not only did Sisk make a strong case to get his initial call-up, but he ensured his Triple-A stat line stayed just a sterling after the fact. Through 12 innings across 12 appearances in Omaha, Sisk holds a 0.75 ERA, 1.54 FIP, 1.08 WHIP, .229 BAA, a 30.0% K-rate and just a 4.0% walk rate.

KC Royals lose Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo to IL

In order to facilitate Cameron and Sisk's promotions, Kansas City placed Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans on the IL, as the initial hopes they'd be able to avoid missing extended time didn't pan out.

As mentioned already, Lugo was already set to miss some time with what the team is now calling a "third finger sprain". Lugo has continued to be a strong source of quality in this rotation, backing up his 3.00 ERA campaign in 2024, worthy of runner-up recognition in AL Cy Young voting, with a 3.02 ERA this season.

In Ragans case, despite holding ace status this season, he's been a little worse for wear of late. Four of his last five starts have resulted in the traditionally lights-out lefty surrendering four earned runs or more, resulting in his ERA climbing to 4.53.

There will be a two-fold hope with these two key pieces to the starting staff. Obviously, a minimum IL stint would be ideal for these two, given their immense importance to this squads contention hopes. But they'll also hope that their respective times on the IL, especially in Ragans' case, will bring them back to full strength to ensure optimal performance.