Gary Sheffield Jr. compared Cole Ragans to former pitching great Cliff Lee, labeling Ragans wise beyond his years. Sheffield positioned Ragans second overall on his top-five MLB starters list, stating that he nearly ranked him first due to his impressive maturity, poise, and outstanding early-season performances. Sheffield advocated strongly for betting and fantasy investment, expecting elite durability and consistency from Ragans moving forward.

Kenny G sees mild betting value in backing the Royals at -130 against Cleveland primarily due to starter Cole Ragans' form (2.81 ERA, dominant recent starts against Brewers and Twins including a career-best 11 strikeouts vs Minnesota). Although hesitant overall due to Kansas City's weak offense (28th in runs, 29th slugging) and Cleveland's strong bullpen (2.38 ERA), Kenny considers the Royals a reasonable bet to end their small losing streak behind Ragans' improving performances.

Brad Francis recommended betting on the Royals money line against the Guardians, mainly due to starting pitcher Cole Ragans. Despite losing the first two games of the series, Francis expressed confidence in Ragans, whom he called one of the league's premier pitchers. He also noted the Royals' excellent recent performance as favorites, winning seven consecutive games in that spot.

Despite the Royals' recent offensive struggles, Kingpin is bullish on Cole Ragans today against Cleveland. Ragans has been exceptional, allowing only 2 runs in his last two starts while registering 21 strikeouts in just 11 innings. Although historically he has struggled vs. Cleveland, his recent dominance (2.81 ERA this season and Cy Young-level stuff) suggests he can handle a lineup that's modest at best. With Kansas City eager to avoid a sweep, Ragans appears ready to carry the Royals to a victory today.

Joe Pisapia highlighted Cole Ragans after an excellent performance featuring 11 strikeouts. Pisapia noted Ragans looked fantastic in his dominant outing, and recommended elevating expectations on him moving forward given his rapidly improving peripherals and strikeout potential. Ragans' strong whiff-generating skill has fantasy managers' attention, and Pisapia emphasized Ragans' upside and improving effectiveness warrant making him a priority waiver target or trade acquisition before his value climbs higher.

Guy Boston strongly advised backing Kansas City's Cole Ragans in an early matchup versus Minnesota. Despite two losses in his starts, Ragans has pitched effectively, especially a recent outing against Milwaukee with 10 Ks, one earned in five innings. Crucially, Minnesota has been utterly woeful against left-handed pitching so far this season (.071 batting average, a minus-15 WRC+, and a massive 33% strikeout rate). With known Twins hitters like Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton off to uncharacteristically slow starts versus lefties, Guy anticipates Minnesota's struggles to continue and specifically suggests early-game plays (such as Twins under 1.5 runs in first five innings or Kansas City first five run line) as prime angles.

Jesse Schule is leaning toward the Kansas City Royals as a slight home favorite (-112) against Minnesota, highlighting Cole Ragans' strong historical performance against the Twins (career 1.93 ERA in five starts). Ragans also tends to pitch significantly better at home. Schule emphasized the Royals' recent domination at home versus Minnesota, including a four-game sweep in Kansas City last September, and noted they're currently playing better baseball and hitting more effectively than the Twins team that's started slowly at 3-7.

Peterson recommends backing the Kansas City Royals on the moneyline (-123) against Minnesota, highlighting how Cole Ragans has quietly become an ace-level talent for Kansas City. Ragans owns elite metrics, including a 3.02 ERA, 2.86 FIP, 10.9 K/9, and limiting opposing hitters to just 0.6 home runs per game since becoming a Royal in late 2023. He also cites the depleted Twins lineup, notably missing key hitters Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis, averaging just 3.1 runs entering Monday. Moreover, although Twins pitcher Pablo Lopez has shown good peripheral metrics and strikeout numbers, the results (3.82 ERA) suggest he remains vulnerable. Peterson also sees clear value on a higher scoring game, playing over 7.5, given the conditions and offenses heading into this matchup.

JD Bets identifies Cole Ragans as having good value to surpass his 6.5 strikeout prop against Milwaukee due to their tendency to strike out frequently. Ragans faced Milwaukee once last year and struck out eight batters, showing he can take advantage of their vulnerabilities. JD disregards Ragans' low strikeout performance in his first game of 2024, explaining it was because Cleveland strikes out very infrequently compared to Milwaukee. This context makes Ragans' strikeout over an appealing wager.

Adam Burke recommends betting against Cole Ragans, citing major concerns from his spring training performances, specifically two outings where he was rocked—one allowing seven runs in 2.1 innings vs Cubs and one giving up eight runs on eleven hits vs the Athletics. Burke points to Ragans' reduced spin rates and fastball velocity declines that began late last season, exacerbated by significant bumps in walk rates from August onward. Burke references Eno Sarris' pitcher analysis noting Ragans lost more fastball velocity from start to finish last year after greatly increased workload, suggesting he may be struggling physically. Burke favors fading Ragans and Royals as part of his season-long strategy to bet against Kansas City.

Kyle Purviance cautiously highlighted taking Cole Ragans and the Royals against the Guardians on opening day at minus 130 odds, mentioning Ragans as an exciting young arm with strikeout upside who performed exceptionally well last opening-day appearance. Despite the Guardians' notorious resistance to strikeouts, Purviance sees slight betting appeal for Ragans at home. He acknowledged concerns about Kansas City's offensive capabilities limiting optimism and emphasized Cleveland's excellent bullpen might counteract any Royals offensive production. Nonetheless, while not overly confident, Purviance saw sneaky potential value in Ragans at this modest number based on his talent and past early-season performances.