Royals' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Preview | Cole Ragans, Lucas Erceg, Seth Lugo, Carlos Estevez, Michael Wacha and More

Let's wrap up our fantasy baseball team preview on the Kansas City Royals by looking at the team's pitchers. We looked at hitters in another story.

We've covered the Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Rangers (hitters and pitchers) , Nationals (hitters and pitchers), Orioles (hitters and pitchers), Reds (hitters and pitchers), Red Sox (hitters and pitchers), Mets (hitters and pitchers), Twins (hitters and pitchers), Giants (hitters and pitchers), Athletics (hitters and pitchers), Pirates (hitters and pitchers), Mariners (hitters and pitchers), Rockies (hitters and pitchers), Rays (hitters and pitchers), Braves (hitters and pitchers) and White Sox (hitters and pitchers) already.

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Top Fantasy Pitchers

There's a handful of Kansas City pitchers appearing on the ADP list so far.

Cole Ragans leads the way, going at pick 41.1 on average.

Reliever Lucas Erceg is at pick 132.68, while starter Seth Lugo checks in at pick 141.35. Reliever Carlos Estevez appears at pick 166.25, while starter Michael Wacha is at pick 189.

Ragans is one of my favorite fantasy starting pitchers for 2025. 

The 27-year-old is coming off a fantastic 2024 season. Across 32 starts, Ragans went 11-9, but with a 3.14 earned run average. Ragans struck out 223 batters over 186 1/3 innings.

Ragans should be able to eat up a few more innings in 2025, and that should bump his strikeout numbers even higher. His ERA could regress a bit, but I still think he's going to live up to his ADP, and I actually think he outperforms it.

Erceg and Estevez are projected to both close games for the Royals. It's a beneficial fantasy outlook for the team's closer because the team should win plenty of games.

Erceg earned 11 of his 14 saves last season with the Royals. In 23 games with the team, he went 0-3, but with a 2.88 ERA. He struck out 31 batters over 25 innings. Erceg also had solid numbers with the Athletics before being traded to the Royals at the deadline.

Estevez pitched for the Angels and Phillies last season. Across 54 combined appearances, he had a 2.45 ERA, a 4-5 record, but no saves. He struck out 50 batters over 55 innings.

You can see why Erceg is going so much early in fantasy drafts despite both guys being in contention to close games. Erceg is definitely the better fantasy option with his strikeout numbers, but if the pitchers share the job, it's going to limit each player's fantasy ceiling.

I don't mind taking Erceg in standard leagues because I think he gets more saves, and is the better fantasy option, but I'd prefer him about 20 or so picks after his current ADP. Estevez is maybe worth drafting with a final standard league pick, but I'd really only do it if I had already taken Erceg.

Really, I'd try to stay away from Estevez and Erceg if I could. Take Erceg if he falls a couple rounds, otherwise go after another team's closer instead.

Lugo was a surprise breakout fantasy star last season.

In 33 starts, he went 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA. That win-loss record is going to be hard to replicate in 2025, but a career 3.38 ERA suggests Lugo might not drop off as much as you expect. He had 181 strikeouts over 206 2/3 innings last season.

I think there's a fair amount of fantasy value if you can land Lugo around his ADP. I expect some regression with him, but with a later pick, the risk is lower and he has a good chance of living up to that pick, at least.

Wacha has really been a pretty good fantasy option over the past three seasons.

In 29 starts last season, Wacha went 13-8 with a 3.35 ERA. Again, the win-loss record might not be sustainable, and a 3.89 career ERA suggests some regression could be coming for the 33-year-old. Wacha had 145 punchouts over 166 2/3 innings last year.

He's a fine pick with one of your final standard league selections. There's not much risk involved, and if he struggles, you can simply use his roster spot to stream starters all season.

Other Starting Options

According to FanGraphs, Michael Lorenzen and Kris Bubic are the other projected starting pitchers for the season. Kyle Wright could be another option when healthy.

Hunter Harvey, John Schreiber, Angel Zerpa, Chris Stratton and Sam Long are some other bullpen options, while Carlos Hernandez is the projected long reliever. James McArthur is another relief option when he gets healthy.

Lorenzen made six starts and seven appearances for the Royals in 2024. In 24 starts and 26 games total, Lorenzen had a 7-6 record and 3.31 ERA across 130 1/3 innings. He struck out just 97 batters though.

Lorenzen is just a deep-league option to begin the season because of the lower strikeout totals, but he could be a streaming option in the right matchups all season.

Bubic appeared in 27 games in 2024, with each coming in relief. He went 1-1 with a 2.67 ERA. Bubic struck out 39 batters across 30 1/3 innings.

If he indeed is the fifth starter, he's likely going to have an innings limit, which will hold him back as a fantasy asset. He's a deep-league option, but will need to prove himself before becoming a streaming option.

Hernandez is in a very similar boat, but is not as good a fantasy option if he's coming out of the bullpen. He's worth keeping tabs on, in case he ever cracks the rotation.

Wright hasn't pitched since 2023, and he's only gone over 10 appearances in one season since debuting in 2018. His lone standout season so far with Atlanta when he made 30 starts in 2023. Wright had a 21-5 record and 3.19 ERA, while striking out 174 batters over 180 1/3 innings.

He's worth keeping tabs on in case he regains that form with the Royals. Wright is just a deep-league stash at the beginning of the season though.

With two options at closer already, not many of the KC relievers are great fantasy options. 

Top Prospects

There's no Kansas City pitching prospects inside the top-100 list at the start of the season.

Noah Cameron, Luinder Avila, Chandler Champlain, Tyson Guerrero and Eric Cerantola are all top-30 prospects of the team who are expected to pitch in the big leagues in 2025.

Cameron has a 3.97 ERA across 68 minor league starts and 301 2/3 innings. He has a .251 average against him, along with 380 strikeouts and just 87 walks.

Avila has started in 80 of his 103 minor league appearances so far. Across 418 innings, he has 377 punchouts, 184 walks and a .236 average against him.

Champlain has a 4.70 ERA across 77 minor league appearances and 74 starts. In 381 frames, Champlain has 361 strikeouts, 126 walks and a .263 average against him.

Guerrero has started 58 of the 63 minor league games he's appeared in. He has a 4.49 ERA across 258 2/3 innings, along with 286 strikeouts, 109 walks and a .230 average against him.

Cerantola has a 3.62 ERA across 184 minor league innings. He's started in 23 of his 83 appearances and has a .207 average against him, 235 punchouts and 117 walks.

Andrew Hoffmann, Ben Kudrna, Steven Zobac, Steven Cruz and Beck Way are other pitchers age 25 or below who are in big league camp with the Royals this spring.