Texas Rangers Minor League Pitching Dealt Another Blow

The Texas Rangers and their minor league system were dealt another blow with former first rounder, Cole Ragans, headed for Tommy John surgery.

Former first-round draft pick Cole Ragans is headed for a second Tommy John surgery. The highly touted Texas Rangers prospect is just a year and a month removed from his for Tommy John that cost him the whole 2018 season. According to Jeff Wilson, the second Tommy John is needed after the original surgery didn’t hold up.

After this surgery, Ragans likely will miss a considerable amount of time in the 2020 season further delaying his development. Ragans was highly ranked in the Rangers system entering this season as the number 10 prospect in the organization according to MLB Prospect Watch. Pre-injury, Ragans was the 6th ranked prospect for the Rangers showing how high expectations were for him.

Ragans was drafted 30th overall in the 2016 draft out of Tallahassee, Florida and was looking to rebound in his return to pro ball this season. This is a devastating blow to this organization which has put such a focus on developing their young arms moving forward. Hopes are that he can still bounce back and at only 21-years old, he still is young. However, having two Tommy John surgeries before you get out of Rookie Ball is fairly concerning.

In his most recent action, Ragans made 13 starts for Short-Season Spokane posting a 3-2 record and 3.61 ERA. He struck out 87 hitters in under 60 innings and held opponents to a .234 batting average.

As mentioned above, if all goes well, Ragans should be back on the mound sometime during the 2020 season where we can fully reevaluate his ability and potential post-surgeries. Until then, all the best to Cole and hopefully we see a full and speedy recovery.