Spring training is progressing smoothly, and the 2024 MLB season is fast approaching.
Now is the time to bet on futures.
Today, I’m focusing on the American League Cy Young Award race. There, they target left-handed pitchers that many baseball fans may have never heard of.
Not surprisingly, names like reigning champion Gerrit Cole and 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes are at the top of the AL Cy Young Award odds board. There is.
But we’re targeting a slugging pitcher a little further down the list: Royals starter Cole Regans, who finished last season as one of the best players in baseball.
The 26-year-old Reagan was acquired from the Rangers in a trade for Aroldis Chapman in late June and was active in Kansas City in late 2023.
In 12 starts for the Royals, Ragans posted a stellar 2.64 ERA, allowing a meager .195 batting average in 71 2/3 innings and striking out 31.1 percent of batters.
He entered the spring opener this week after pitching two innings against the Angels, giving up three hits and no walks, with five strikeouts.
Lagance’s performance looked even better than his stat line, reaching 161 mph with one of his strikeouts.
It may seem like a small sample size, but there is a clear starting point for Ragans’ seemingly out-of-nowhere breakout. That’s because he developed a nasty slider after arriving in Kansas City.
The Reagans’ slider quickly became one of the best in baseball, boasting a league-high 4.4 run value per 100 pitches (minimum of 50 at-bats) and a 40 percent whiff rate.
The addition of the slider gives him a complete five-pitch arsenal that can be used in any count.
All the ingredients are there, but if you’re looking for flaws, it might be a little early to expect a Cy Young-level workload from a flamethrower.
Last season was Ragans’ first in the major leagues, but he slowed down a bit midway through, suggesting he might not be ready to pitch more than 200 innings.
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It was less than a year ago that Texas was developing Ragans as a relief pitcher.
But gone are the days when pitchers pitched more than 250 innings in a season.
Consider last season’s National League Cy Young Award race.
Pitcher Blake Snell has a similar profile to Ragans and won this award after only 180 innings pitched.
If he can get to around 180 innings, Ragans will be in the race all the way. This number makes it worth playing the lottery.
choice: Cole Regans wins AL Cy Young Award +3000 points (Bet Rivers)
