Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies are feeling it. They are in the zone and feeling unstoppable at the moment after recording their 10th win of the season with a 5-0 victory on Tuesday at home over the Colorado Rockies. Harper had a huge role in the triumph against the visitors, but even better in the game was Philadelphia starter Ranger Suarez, who remains lethal on the mound so far in the 2024 MLB regular season.
Ranger Suarez gets huge praise from Bryce Harper after Phillies’ win
So good was Suarez against the Rockies that Harper said the lefty hurler is the best pitcher on the third spot of a any rotation in the big leagues right now.
“People might not like it but I think he’s the best 3 in the game,” Harper said following the win (h/t Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia).
“I’ve been around a lot of good pitchers and they have kind of that same demeanor,” Harper further shared about his view of Suarez.
“It’s a lot of fun to see what these guys can do. I just don’t think they make ’em like that anymore really, getting into the seventh inning, grinding through, getting to the eighth inning. A lot of guys are in the minor leagues throwing 3½ innings and getting out of the game. It’s kind of tough for the game.
The 28-year-old Suarez entered the Rockies game coming off a sensational performance in last Thursday’s 5-1 home win against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In that contest, he allowed zero earned runs on two hits with two walks issued and seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work on the mound. He was even better in his taming of the Rockies’ offense, as Suarez tossed nine scoreless innings, surrendering just seven hits and a walk while punching out eight strikeouts along the way of a 112-pitch outing.
Through his first four games this season, including three starts, Suarez has amassed a 3-0 record, 1.73 ERA, and 0.77 WHIP across 26.0 total innings.
Suarez is bringing terrific value to the table for the Phillies, who are paying him just $5.05 million in 2023 after both sides signed that deal to avoid arbitration back in January. He is still arbitration-eligible in 2025, but if he sustains his blazing form, he should be able to get way more money the next time he puts ink on paper.
“So when you have guys that are valuable like that, you’re gonna get paid,” Harper said of Suarez’s outlook. “You throw 200 innings, you’re going to get a lot of money. I think Ranger’s going to be one of those guys and very fortunate to have him on our side,” added Harper, who went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs in the Colorado game.
It can be tough for Suarez to keep up his incredible trend on the mound, but it’s clear that his confidence with the ball has gotten a tremendous boost with his excellent start to the season. His strikeout rate has gone up in 2024 while his walk rate has gone down. He doesn’t have the fastest ball (just in the 13th percentile in fastball velocity), but he’s in the 80 or higher percentiles in terms of xERA, xBA, average exit velocity, hard hit percentage, and ground ball percentage, per Baseball Savant.
As Suarez takes a well-deserved rest, the Phillies will look to complete a sweep of the Rockies this Wednesday, with Christopher Sanchez expected to start for Philadelphia.
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