One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .444 expected average against them, against .294 on his fastballs.
139 of his breaking balls thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ragans's 4-seam fastball carries 17.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
358 thrown, averaging 94.9 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ragans's knuckle curve leaves the bat at 94.8 mph, against 82.7 off his changeup.
54 and 105 of them thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ragans throws a fastball 71.1% of the time, against 50.8% when he is ahead.
201 pitches behind in the count, 179 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ragans's changeup moves 15.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
105 thrown, averaging 84.2 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.6 mph separates Ragans's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 94.9 against 79.3.
358 and 54 of them respectively.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ragans puts 42.2% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 36.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
431 pitches to right-handed hitters, 208 to left-handed hitters.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Ragans's stuff spins at 2,474 rpm, 86th percentile in the league.
639 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 77th in MLB.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Ragans works off the plate, with only 40.4% of his pitches in the zone, 25th percentile.
639 pitches in 2026. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 405th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ragans works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Slider and Knuckle Curve, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 56.1% of everything he throws.
638 classified pitches in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Ragans throws a strike on the first pitch 53.9% of the time.
152 plate appearances started in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Ragans lands 45.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.5% of his breaking balls.
394 of his fastballs, 139 of his breaking balls.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ragans lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.29 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
638 located pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ragans throws the changeup 23.3% of the time against right-handers and 2.4% against left-handers.
430 pitches to right-handers, 208 to left-handers.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ragans releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 58 degrees above horizontal and 1.1 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
638 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ragans goes to the slider: 18.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 10.9% the rest of the time.
197 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Ragans works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.4 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
638 located pitches in 2026.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Ragans releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
489 tracked pitches in 2026.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Ragans throws 43% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 40% with the bases empty.
101 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 538 with the bases empty.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.6% of Ragans's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
106 of 638 located pitches.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ragans's 4-seam fastball averages 94.9 mph, and has touched 99.2.
358 thrown, 56.1% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ragans's slider spins at 2,576 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
85 thrown in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Ragans puts 53% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 44.4% when he is ahead.
200 located pitches behind, 180 ahead.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .444 expected average against them, against .294 on his fastballs.
139 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Ragans lands 45.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.5% of his breaking balls.
394 of his fastballs, 139 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ragans's 4-seam fastball carries 17.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
358 thrown, averaging 94.9 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ragans's changeup moves 15.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
105 thrown, averaging 84.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ragans's knuckle curve leaves the bat at 94.8 mph, against 82.7 off his changeup.
54 and 105 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.6 mph separates Ragans's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 94.9 against 79.3.
358 and 54 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ragans works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Slider and Knuckle Curve, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 56.1% of everything he throws.
638 classified pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ragans throws the changeup 23.3% of the time against right-handers and 2.4% against left-handers.
430 pitches to right-handers, 208 to left-handers.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ragans's 4-seam fastball averages 94.9 mph, and has touched 99.2.
358 thrown, 56.1% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ragans's slider spins at 2,576 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
85 thrown in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ragans throws a fastball 71.1% of the time, against 50.8% when he is ahead.
201 pitches behind in the count, 179 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Ragans throws a strike on the first pitch 53.9% of the time.
152 plate appearances started in 2026.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ragans goes to the slider: 18.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 10.9% the rest of the time.
197 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Ragans puts 53% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 44.4% when he is ahead.
200 located pitches behind, 180 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ragans puts 42.2% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 36.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
431 pitches to right-handed hitters, 208 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Ragans's stuff spins at 2,474 rpm, 86th percentile in the league.
639 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 77th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Ragans works off the plate, with only 40.4% of his pitches in the zone, 25th percentile.
639 pitches in 2026. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 405th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ragans lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.29 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
638 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Ragans works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.4 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
638 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.6% of Ragans's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
106 of 638 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ragans releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 58 degrees above horizontal and 1.1 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
638 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Ragans releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
489 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Ragans throws 43% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 40% with the bases empty.
101 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 538 with the bases empty.
Royals
Career team 2023–2026