Who Should I Trade?

Cole Ragans for Merrill Kelly (2026)

Summary
Stats
Projections
News & Notes
Schedule

Who Should I Trade? Player Summaries
	Experts' Pick
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI	Cole Ragans SP - KC
Expert Recommendation	60% Recommended by 3 of 5 experts	40% Recommended by 2 of 5 experts
Rankings

Rest of Season	# 149	‐
VBR	# 373	‐

Projections

Strikeouts	52	‐
Wins	4	‐
Saves	0	‐
ERA	4.71	‐
WHIP	1.39	‐

Misc

Injury Alert	-	OUT

Expert Ranks

Scott Pianowski Yahoo! Sports	# 159	‐

Kelly Kirby FantasyPros	# 153	‐

Kevin Spinelli KevScores	# 156	# 444

Mike Maher BettingPros	# 160	# 78

Chris Welsh FantasyPros	‐	# 110

Who Should I Trade? Player Statistics
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI	Cole Ragans SP - KC
2026 Stats


Games Played	18	8

Games Started	18	8

Innings Pitched	103.2	35.1

Wins	8	1

Losses	8	4

Saves	0	0

Blown Saves	0	0

Holds	0	0

Hits Allowed	112	27

Earned Runs	59	19

Home Runs Allowed	22	10

Strikeouts	65	45

Walks	41	23

ERA	5.12	4.84

WHIP	1.48	1.42

Who Should I Trade? Player Projections
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI	Cole Ragans SP - KC
2026 Projections


Games Played	12	‐

Games Started	12	‐

Innings Pitched	67.2	‐

Wins	4	‐

Losses	4	‐

Saves	0	‐

Blown Saves	0	‐

Holds	0	‐

Hits Allowed	69	‐

Earned Runs	35	‐

Home Runs Allowed	11	‐

Strikeouts	52	‐

Walks	23	‐

ERA	4.71	‐

WHIP	1.39	‐

Who Should I Trade? Player Notes
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI	Cole Ragans SP - KC
News
	Merrill Kelly allowed two runs on five hits over five innings with three strikeouts and one walk in a win on Wednesday against the Athletics. Ari Koslow Thu, Jul 23rd	Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters Cole Ragans underwent a UCL repair in his left-elbow and is expected to be sidelined around 10-12 months. Ari Koslow Thu, Jul 2nd
	Merrill Kelly allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits over five innings with three strikeouts and two walks in a no-decision on Friday against the Cardinals. Ari Koslow Sat, Jul 18th	Cole Ragans will undergo elbow surgery on Wednesday. Ari Koslow Sat, Jun 27th
	Merrill Kelly allowed one run on three hits over seven innings with six strikeouts and three walks in a win on Thursday against the Padres. Ari Koslow Fri, Jul 10th	Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters Cole Ragans is likely to undergo surgery. Ari Koslow Tue, Jun 23rd
	Merrill Kelly allowed two runs on eight hits over five innings with six strikeouts and two walks in a win on Saturday against the Brewers. Ari Koslow Sun, Jul 5th	The Royals transferred LHP Cole Ragans to the 60-day injured list. Ari Koslow Wed, Jun 17th
	Merrill Kelly allowed five runs on eight hits over six innings with three strikeouts and two walks in a loss on Sunday against the Rays. Ari Koslow Mon, Jun 29th	The Royals remain without an update on the status of Cole Ragans. Ari Koslow Mon, Jun 15th
Notes
There are no recent notes for these players

Who Should I Trade? Player Schedules
Date	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR	Opp	Opp Pitcher	VBR
	Merrill Kelly SP - ARI			Cole Ragans SP - KC
Fri, Mar 27th	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#37	@ ATL	Chris Sale (10-6)	#6
Sat, Mar 28th	@ LAD	Tyler Glasnow (3-0)	#76	@ ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#90
Sun, Mar 29th				@ ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#150
Mon, Mar 30th	vs DET	Justin Verlander (0-1)	#180	vs MIN	Simeon Woods Richardson (1-7)	#354
Wed, Apr 1st	vs DET	Tarik Skubal (6-5)	#2	vs MIN	Joe Ryan (6-6)	#13
Thu, Apr 2nd	vs ATL	Reynaldo Lopez (4-3)	#90	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#46
Sat, Apr 4th	vs ATL	Bryce Elder (6-6)	#146	vs MIL	Logan Henderson (4-1)	#56
Sun, Apr 5th	vs ATL	Martin Perez (6-6)	#174	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#53
Mon, Apr 6th				@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-9)	#48
Tue, Apr 7th	@ NYM	Freddy Peralta (5-9)	#43	@ CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#25
Wed, Apr 8th	@ NYM	David Peterson (5-7)	#78	@ CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-5)	#77
Thu, Apr 9th	@ NYM	Nolan McLean (7-6)	#31	vs CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#201
Fri, Apr 10th	@ PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-4)	#9	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#91
Sat, Apr 11th	@ PHI	Taijuan Walker (1-4)		vs CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#371
Sun, Apr 12th	@ PHI	Zach Pop		vs CWS	Grant Taylor (4-2)	#44
Tue, Apr 14th	@ BAL	Trevor Rogers (6-7)	#68	@ DET	Framber Valdez (5-7)	#35
Wed, Apr 15th	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#40	@ DET	Jack Flaherty (3-8)	#72
Thu, Apr 16th				@ DET	Keider Montero (7-5)	#154
Fri, Apr 17th	vs TOR	Braydon Fisher (3-3)	#159	@ NYY	Cam Schlittler (9-6)	#20
Sat, Apr 18th	vs TOR	Max Scherzer (1-4)	#155	@ NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#62
Sun, Apr 19th	vs TOR	Kevin Gausman (4-9)	#23	@ NYY	Ryan Weathers (3-7)	#58
Mon, Apr 20th				vs BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#40
Tue, Apr 21st	vs CWS	Sean Burke (7-4)	#83	vs BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#63
Wed, Apr 22nd	vs CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#201	vs BAL	Chris Bassitt (4-4)	#271
Fri, Apr 24th				vs LAA	Yusei Kikuchi (0-3)	#138
Sat, Apr 25th	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#360	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#243
Sun, Apr 26th	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#41
Tue, Apr 28th	@ MIL	Chad Patrick (5-4)	#126	@ ATH	Aaron Civale (5-7)	#206
Wed, Apr 29th	@ MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-5)	#130	@ ATH	Luis Severino (2-6)	#181
Thu, Apr 30th	@ MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		@ ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-9)	#190
Fri, May 1st	@ CHC	Colin Rea (7-7)	#193	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#15
Sat, May 2nd	@ CHC	Shota Imanaga (6-8)	#27	@ SEA	Emerson Hancock (6-4)	#94
Sun, May 3rd	@ CHC	Matthew Boyd (6-1)	#36	@ SEA	Luis Castillo (3-9)	#67
Mon, May 4th				vs CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-9)	#48
Tue, May 5th	vs PIT	Bubba Chandler (3-8)	#124	vs CLE	Gavin Williams (10-5)	#25
Wed, May 6th	vs PIT	Paul Skenes (9-8)	#3	vs CLE	Joey Cantillo (8-5)	#77
Thu, May 7th	vs PIT	Mitch Keller (6-7)	#115	vs CLE	Slade Cecconi (4-7)	#105
Fri, May 8th	vs NYM	Nolan McLean (7-6)	#31	vs DET	Keider Montero (7-5)	#154
Sat, May 9th	vs NYM	Clay Holmes (4-4)	#101	vs DET	Burch Smith
Sun, May 10th	vs NYM	Huascar Brazoban (4-2)	#187	vs DET	Brenan Hanifee
Tue, May 12th	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#34	@ CWS	Erick Fedde (5-6)	#371
Wed, May 13th	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (3-8)	#93	@ CWS	Noah Schultz (3-7)	#230
Thu, May 14th				@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#201
Fri, May 15th	@ COL	Kyle Freeland (2-9)	#268	@ STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#52
Sat, May 16th	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (9-4)	#433	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#123
Sun, May 17th	@ COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#425	@ STL	Andre Pallante (10-6)	#134
Mon, May 18th	vs SF	Robbie Ray (8-6)	#84	vs BOS	Sonny Gray (12-1)	#28
Tue, May 19th	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#64	vs BOS	Ranger Suarez (4-3)	#30
Wed, May 20th	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (2-9)	#85	vs BOS	Connelly Early (7-5)	#137
Fri, May 22nd	vs COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (9-4)	#433	vs SEA	Logan Gilbert (8-6)	#11
Sat, May 23rd	vs COL	Michael Lorenzen (3-9)	#425	vs SEA	George Kirby (8-8)	#21
Sun, May 24th	vs COL	Jose Quintana (2-3)	#430	vs SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#15
Mon, May 25th	@ SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#64	vs NYY	Will Warren (7-4)	#62
Tue, May 26th	@ SF	Tyler Mahle (2-9)	#85	vs NYY	Cam Schlittler (9-6)	#20
Wed, May 27th	@ SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)	#242	vs NYY	Gerrit Cole (3-5)	#29
Fri, May 29th	@ SEA	George Kirby (8-8)	#21	@ TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#34
Sat, May 30th	@ SEA	Bryan Woo (7-6)	#15	@ TEX	Kumar Rocker (3-8)	#93
Sun, May 31st	@ SEA	Bryce Miller (4-4)	#38	@ TEX	Jack Leiter (3-7)	#135
Mon, Jun 1st	vs LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#37	@ CIN	Lyon Richardson
Tue, Jun 2nd	vs LAD	Eric Lauer (5-5)	#287	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#108
Wed, Jun 3rd	vs LAD	Shohei Ohtani (8-2)	#1	@ CIN	Chase Burns (12-1)	#22
Thu, Jun 4th	vs LAD	Justin Wrobleski (11-2)	#75	@ MIN	Andrew Morris (4-2)	#145
Fri, Jun 5th	vs WSH	Foster Griffin (11-2)	#59	@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-7)	#111
Sat, Jun 6th	vs WSH	Zack Littell (7-7)	#179	@ MIN	Joe Ryan (6-6)	#13
Sun, Jun 7th	vs WSH	Cade Cavalli (7-4)	#61	@ MIN	Connor Prielipp (2-5)	#120
Tue, Jun 9th	@ MIA	Max Meyer (9-1)	#82	vs TEX	Nathan Eovaldi (9-8)	#19
Wed, Jun 10th	@ MIA	Ryan Gusto (0-2)	#226	vs TEX	MacKenzie Gore (6-8)	#34
Thu, Jun 11th	@ MIA	Tyler Phillips (2-5)	#280	vs TEX	Kumar Rocker (3-8)	#93
Fri, Jun 12th	@ CIN	Nick Lodolo (3-2)	#102	vs HOU	Tatsuya Imai (6-4)	#128
Sat, Jun 13th	@ CIN	Rhett Lowder (3-7)	#209	vs HOU	Mike Burrows (4-9)	#232
Sun, Jun 14th	@ CIN	Andrew Abbott (5-6)	#108	vs HOU	Spencer Arrighetti (7-5)	#153
Mon, Jun 15th	vs LAA	Walbert Urena (6-7)	#243	@ WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-3)	#151
Tue, Jun 16th	vs LAA	Reid Detmers (3-7)	#41	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (11-2)	#59
Wed, Jun 17th	vs LAA	Sam Aldegheri (3-4)	#428	@ WSH	Zack Littell (7-7)	#179
Thu, Jun 18th				vs STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-7)	#117
Fri, Jun 19th	vs MIN	Connor Prielipp (2-5)	#120	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-7)	#88
Sun, Jun 21st	vs MIN	Mike Paredes (0-3)	#312	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#52
Mon, Jun 22nd	@ STL	Andre Pallante (10-6)	#134	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (8-5)	#17
Tue, Jun 23rd	@ STL	Kyle Leahy (7-4)	#123	@ TB	Shane McClanahan (8-6)	#33
Wed, Jun 24th	@ STL	Matthew Liberatore (5-7)	#117	@ TB	Griffin Jax (6-7)	#57
Thu, Jun 25th				@ TB	Casey Legumina
Fri, Jun 26th	@ TB	Nick Martinez (9-2)	#106	@ CWS	David Sandlin (2-1)	#313
Sat, Jun 27th	@ TB	Cole Sulser		@ CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#91
Sun, Jun 28th	@ TB	Drew Rasmussen (8-5)	#17	@ CWS	Anthony Kay (7-4)	#201
Tue, Jun 30th	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#64	vs TB	Griffin Jax (6-7)	#57
Wed, Jul 1st	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)	#242	vs TB	Shane McClanahan (8-6)	#33
Thu, Jul 2nd				vs TB	Ian Seymour (6-2)	#73
Sat, Jul 4th	vs MIL	Brandon Woodruff (2-2)		vs PHI	Jesus Luzardo (9-4)	#9
Sun, Jul 5th	vs MIL	Brandon Sproat (3-5)	#130	vs PHI	Aaron Nola (3-8)	#51
Mon, Jul 6th	@ SD	Walker Buehler (6-5)	#182	vs PHI	Cristopher Sanchez (12-4)	#4
Tue, Jul 7th	@ SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#360	@ NYM	Cionel Perez
Wed, Jul 8th	@ SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50	@ NYM	Christian Scott (3-2)	#60
Thu, Jul 9th	@ SD	Griffin Canning (1-8)	#165	@ NYM	Sean Manaea (2-5)	#86
Fri, Jul 10th	@ LAD	Kyle Hurt		@ BAL	Brandon Young (8-2)	#132
Sat, Jul 11th	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-6)	#12	@ BAL	Kyle Bradish (7-9)	#40
Sun, Jul 12th	@ LAD	Emmet Sheehan (4-7)	#37	@ BAL	Shane Baz (4-9)	#63
Fri, Jul 17th	vs STL	Michael McGreevy (4-7)	#88	vs SD	Michael King (6-7)	#50
Sat, Jul 18th	vs STL	Dustin May (5-7)	#52	vs SD	Griffin Canning (1-8)	#165
Sun, Jul 19th	vs STL	Andre Pallante (10-6)	#134	vs SD	German Marquez (4-2)	#360
Mon, Jul 20th	vs ATH	Jeffrey Springs (3-9)	#190	vs SF	Trevor McDonald (3-7)	#242
Tue, Jul 21st	vs ATH	Jack Perkins (2-5)	#118	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (2-9)	#85
Wed, Jul 22nd	vs ATH	Gage Jump (3-6)	#92	vs SF	Landen Roupp (7-8)	#64
Thu, Jul 23rd	@ STL	Michael McGreevy (4-7)	#88	@ DET	Troy Melton (5-1)	#104
Fri, Jul 24th	@ WSH	Zack Littell (7-7)	#179	@ DET	Tarik Skubal (6-5)	#2
Sat, Jul 25th	@ WSH	Foster Griffin (11-2)	#59	@ DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#39
Sun, Jul 26th	@ WSH	Andrew Alvarez (2-3)	#151	@ DET	Framber Valdez (5-7)	#35
Tue, Jul 28th	@ PIT	Mitch Keller (6-7)	#115	@ MIN	Bailey Ober (7-3)	#89
Wed, Jul 29th	@ PIT	Jared Jones (2-1)	#47	@ MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#46
Thu, Jul 30th				@ MIN	Zebby Matthews (4-7)	#111
Fri, Jul 31st	@ CLE	Tanner Bibee (4-9)	#48	@ COL	Tomoyuki Sugano (9-4)	#433
Sat, Aug 1st	@ CLE	Parker Messick (8-5)	#49	@ COL	Ryan Feltner (3-4)	#432
Sun, Aug 2nd	@ CLE			@ COL
Tue, Aug 4th	vs SD			vs MIN
Wed, Aug 5th	vs SD			vs MIN
Thu, Aug 6th	vs SD			vs MIN
Fri, Aug 7th	vs LAD			vs CHC
Sat, Aug 8th	vs LAD			vs CHC
Sun, Aug 9th	vs LAD			vs CHC
Mon, Aug 10th	vs COL			@ LAD
Tue, Aug 11th	vs COL			@ LAD
Wed, Aug 12th	vs COL			@ LAD
Fri, Aug 14th	@ ATL			@ LAA
Sat, Aug 15th	@ ATL			@ LAA
Sun, Aug 16th	@ ATL			@ LAA
Mon, Aug 17th	@ BOS			vs ATH
Tue, Aug 18th	@ BOS			vs ATH
Wed, Aug 19th	@ BOS			vs ATH
Thu, Aug 20th				vs ATH
Fri, Aug 21st	vs CIN			vs DET
Sat, Aug 22nd	vs CIN			vs DET
Sun, Aug 23rd	vs CIN			vs DET
Tue, Aug 25th	vs CHC			@ TOR
Wed, Aug 26th	vs CHC			@ TOR
Thu, Aug 27th	@ SF			@ TOR
Fri, Aug 28th	@ SF			@ CLE
Sat, Aug 29th	@ SF			@ CLE
Sun, Aug 30th				@ CLE
Tue, Sep 1st	vs PHI			vs MIA
Wed, Sep 2nd	vs PHI			vs MIA
Thu, Sep 3rd				vs MIA
Fri, Sep 4th	@ HOU			vs TOR
Sat, Sep 5th	@ HOU			vs TOR
Sun, Sep 6th	@ HOU			vs TOR
Mon, Sep 7th	@ KC			vs ARI
Tue, Sep 8th	@ KC			vs ARI
Wed, Sep 9th	@ KC			vs ARI
Fri, Sep 11th	vs TEX			@ BOS
Sat, Sep 12th	vs TEX			@ BOS
Sun, Sep 13th	vs TEX			@ BOS
Tue, Sep 15th	vs MIA			@ HOU
Wed, Sep 16th	vs MIA			@ HOU
Thu, Sep 17th				@ HOU
Fri, Sep 18th	vs NYY			@ PIT
Sat, Sep 19th	vs NYY			@ PIT
Sun, Sep 20th	vs NYY			@ PIT
Tue, Sep 22nd	@ COL			vs CWS
Wed, Sep 23rd	@ COL			vs CWS
Thu, Sep 24th	@ COL			vs CWS
Fri, Sep 25th	@ SD			vs CLE
Sat, Sep 26th	@ SD			vs CLE
Sun, Sep 27th	@ SD			vs CLE
Thu, Mar 26th	@ LAD	Yoshinobu Yamamoto (10-6)	#12
Tue, Mar 31st	vs DET	Casey Mize (4-6)	#39
Fri, Apr 3rd	vs ATL	Grant Holmes (6-4)	#150
Mon, Apr 13th	@ BAL	Dean Kremer (1-3)	#74
Thu, Apr 23rd	vs CWS	Davis Martin (9-5)	#91
Mon, May 11th	@ TEX	Jakob Junis
Thu, May 21st	vs COL	Zach Agnos
Sat, Jun 20th	vs MIN	Taj Bradley (9-4)	#46
Mon, Jun 29th	vs SF	Tyler Mahle (2-9)	#85
Fri, Jul 3rd	vs MIL	Kyle Harrison (8-2)	#53
Mon, Jul 27th	@ PIT	Bubba Chandler (3-8)	#124
Mon, Aug 3rd	vs SD
Mon, Aug 24th	vs CHC
Mon, Aug 31st	vs PHI
Mon, Sep 14th	vs MIA

Who Should I Trade?

Cole Ragans for Merrill Kelly (2026)

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