Rangers Top 30 Pitcher Records Victory at Round Rock
Texas Rangers Top 30 prospect Cole Ragans came back from the minor-league All-Star Break and got back into the groove in a 2-0 victory over the Las Vegas Aviators on Saturday.
Ragans, who is the Rangers’ No. 29 prospect according to MLB.com, improved to 2-2 and slashed his ERA to 3.62 with six scoreless inning, giving up two hits, two walks and eight strikeouts in 93 pitches. The Express bullpen, with another Top 30 prospect in Yerry Rodriguez, helped Ragans close out the shutout.
Earlier this month, Ragans was named the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week.
Ragans started the season in Double-A Frisco, and for the season Ragans is 7-5 with a 3.15 ERA with 107 strikeouts and 28 walks. With Frisco, Ragans went 5-3 with a 2.81 ERA, 65 strikeouts and 19 walks before his call-up and first start with the Express on June. 16.
He was the Rangers’ first-round pick (No. 30 overall) in 2016 out of North Florida Christian in Tallahassee, Fla. He pitched four games in the Arizona Fall League in 2016, and then joined the Rangers’ Short Class A league team in Spokane in 2017, where he went 3-2 in 13 games with a 3.61 ERA, 87 strikeouts and 35 walks.
But Ragans didn’t pitch again until 2021. He had two Tommy John surgeries and the 2020 minor-league season was canceled due to COVID-19.
In 2021, Ragans pitched for two Rangers affiliates — High Class A Hickory and Double A Frisco. With Hickory, Ragans threw 10 games, going 1-2 with a 3.25 ERA, 54 strikeouts and 14 walks. With the RoughRiders, he threw nine games, going 3-1 with a 5.70 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 20 walks. Combined, he went 4-3 with a 4.35 ERA, 87 strikeouts and 34 walks.
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