Royals' young ace looking forward to big-game pressure

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WASHINGTON -- Royals starter Cole Ragans puts a lot of pressure on himself, no matter what games he’s pitching, whether he’s on the mound on Opening Day or at the end of September or in the middle of May.

It’s part of what has made him into the pitcher the Royals are counting on, both now and in their future.

“That’s just me, I’m hard on myself,” Ragans said. “It’s not pressure from anyone else. I like the big games. But at the same time, I’m not going to do anything different from what I’ve done for the last 30 starts.”

The Royals will be relying on that mindset in their young ace pitcher in the next few days, whether that’s to finish out the regular season or kick off playoff baseball.

Currently, the Royals have Brady Singer, Seth Lugo and Ragans lined up to pitch in Atlanta this weekend. But if the Royals can clinch before Sunday -- or even Saturday -- they will almost certainly rearrange their pitching plans so they can have Ragans or Lugo pitch Game 1 or 2 of the Wild Card Series.

“It’s fun,” Ragans said. “We all know what’s on the line. But I prepare the same. I try not to put any more emphasis on the routine, because what I’ve done has gotten me here. All of us. I don’t think any of the guys prepare any differently, because we’ve all been preparing the same way for the last 158 games.”

If the All-Star Ragans doesn’t make another regular-season start, these are the numbers for his first full season in Kansas City:

• 32 starts
• 11-9 record
• 3.14 ERA
• 186 1/3 innings
• 223 strikeouts (29.3% strikeout rate)
• 67 walks (8.8% walk rate).

The 26-year-old’s ERA ranks eighth in the AL, his innings seventh, and his strikeouts second behind AL Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal.

And if Ragans has to pitch Sunday to help the Royals clinch, they can feel good about having their ace on the mound for both Opening Day and Game 162.

In September, Ragans has posted a 1.08 ERA across four starts, with just three earned runs, 26 strikeouts and 11 walks in 25 innings.

“He’s raised the bar so much with our expectations and his own,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “You’ve got to keep in mind that he’s got just over a year in the big leagues, and it’s the first year he’s been a full-time starter. So it’s really remarkable.”

Ragans took the mound Tuesday night in Washington looking to help the Royals snap their seven-game losing streak. He delivered his part, tossing six shutout innings to set the tone for Kansas City to eventually win, 1-0, in 10 innings. Ragans worked around three walks in his outing, singling out “shaky command” early in his start as something he needs to improve upon moving forward.

Small adjustments throughout Tuesday night helped Ragans iron out that command, fixing his sights just slightly so he could get back in the zone. The in-game adjustments have been a big part of Ragans’ growth in ‘24, part of the reason he’s been able to come through so often for the Royals this season.

Ragans began the year as the Royals’ ace, and he’s ending it as their ace, too. And they’ll have him on the mound for the biggest game of the season soon.

Whenever that is.

“If somebody told you that we’d be in this spot back in Spring Training, you’d be like, ‘Sign me up,’” Ragans said. “This is what we play for. You play for the meaningful games. The big situations to get into the playoffs. Our big thing this whole year is taking it day by day. And that’s what we’re trying to do in the last couple of days here.”