Cole Ragans’s success this season has been attributed to a more-consistent arm slot related to a move back to the third base side of the rubber. The raw stuff was already evident, with the Kansas City Royals left-hander being described as “an absolute terror on the mound.” Going into full attack mode following a jump in velocity from last year played a significant role in his emergence as a front-line starter. Ragans uses TrackMan in his bullpens, especially with the slider and cutter, to monitor his release points and ensure all pitches come out of the same tunnel.
After going through phases of dropping his arm slot, Ragans made a change to his positioning on the rubber which helped in getting his slider back to its optimal performance. Combined with his high-octane fastball, this made his pitching arsenal even more potent. With the issue identified and corrected, Ragans is back to his dominant form.
In other news, Hiroto Takahashi continues to dominate in NPB, Darwinzon Hernández impresses with his streak of consecutive strikeouts, and Maikel Franco shines in NPB with a strong performance. The Haarlem Honkbal Week concluded with Japan claiming victory over a team of junior college players from the USA in the championship game.
On the farm, various prospects are making waves, including Dasan Brown, Cooper Ingle, Charles McAdoo, George Wolkow, and Demetrio Crisantes. The independent league also sees Jackie Bradley Jr. on a hot streak.
Following his selection by the Detroit Tigers in the recent draft, Bryce Rainer spoke about his excitement and surprise at being picked by the Tigers. He described the moment akin to a kid at Christmas and expressed his readiness to join the team.
Random facts and stats include players’ performance improvements over the season, unique records tied by players like Rowdy Tellez, and interesting historical baseball events on this day in history. The article also features trivia on players born on today’s date, including Jim Manning and Mark Lemongello.
