The Royals' Opening Day starter in 2025, Ragans left his sixth start of the season with a groin injury which eventually forced a move to the injured list. He returned June 5, only to wind up right back on the IL with a rotator cuff strain. Ragans was later transferred to the 60-day IL and missed more than three months as a result of the shoulder injury. The lefty returned for three starts in September, pitching to a 2.77 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and 22:4 K:BB over 13 innings. By traditional measures like ERA, Ragans' overall performance declined sharply after his first All-Star campaign in 2024, but under the hood he was as good as ever. When healthy, Ragans managed an eye-popping 38.1 K% to go along with a 7.8 BB% over 61.2 total innings. While there are major health and durability question marks, Ragans' high-end performance justifies renewed optimism entering his age-28 season. Read Past Outlooks