Opening Day is a day of tradition. And it is starting to become a tradition that Cole Ragans starts on Opening Day for the Royals.
Ragans was named the starter for the March 27 opener against the Braves in Atlanta, the third consecutive year he has been given the honor.
Ragans was limited to just 13 starts last year, missing two and a half months with a rotator cuff strain. He returned late in the year for three starts and gave up just four runs, striking out 22 of the 48 hitters he faced. Overall heahad a 4.67 ERA with 98 strikeouts in 61.2 innings, the second-highest strikeout rate in baseball for anyone with at last 50 innings.
Ragans has yet to win on Opening Day – he gave up two runs in six innings in a loss to the Twins in 2024 and gave up three runs in five innings in a no-decision to the Guardians last year.
The Royals have not officially named the rest of the starters, but the rotation is expected to include Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic, and Noah Cameron. Ryan Bergert was optioned to the minors on Tuesday.
Royals Opening Day starters
Paul Splittorff 1974, 1976-1977
Dennis Leonard 1978-1980, 1982
Bret Saberhagen 1988, 1990-1991
Kevin Appier 1992-1997, 1999
Zack Greinke 2010, 2022, 2023
Danny Duffy 2017-2018, 2020