MLB Futures Game - Game Day Thread

American League Prospects @ National League Prospects

Sunday, July 11, 2021, 2:05 PM CT (MLB Network / MLB dot com feed)

Coors Field

RHP Cole Winn vs. LHP Matthew Liberatore

The MLB Futures Game will feature two Coles from the farm for the Texas Rangers with 2016 30th overall selection LHP Cole Ragans on the American League roster alongside 2018 15th overall selection RHP Cole Winn.

Ragans at this point is perhaps most known for recovering from not one but two Tommy John surgeries since the Rangers selected him. Rewarded for the hard work of battling back from two devastating setbacks to his professional career, Ragans comes to Colorado with a 3.25 ERA in ten starts for the High-A Hickory Crawdads.

Ragans has struck out 54 in 44 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched and is allowing an opponent’s batting average of .217 to put himself back on the prospect map.

Winn, meanwhile, has put himself in the conversation for being the Rangers’ best overall prospect as his first crack at Double-A ball has produced an impressive 2.49 ERA over 11 outings with 58 Ks in his 50 ²⁄₃ IP.

Batters are only hitting .115 off of Winn this season despite him being one of the league’s youngest starters at 21 years of age.

Winn will make the start for the American League squad of prospects interestingly against the guy was selected immediately after him in 2018. St. Louis hurler Matthew Liberatore will start for the National League as he, like Winn, slid in the first round of the draft and there was much debate at the time and since about whether or not the Rangers should have selected Liberatore and not Winn.

I was in camp Liberatore.

Both pitchers are scheduled to only throw one inning apiece but this will obviously decide once and for all who is the better prospect.