Ranger Suárez is the Most Interesting Player in spring training. He’s poised for a (lucrative) breakout

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Last year, I labeled Johan Rojas as the Most Interesting Player in Phillies spring training. This year, the honor goes to Ranger Suárez. And there really isn’t a close second.

What does it mean to be the Most Interesting Player? Not much, truthfully. The designation is completely arbitrary. Frankly, it wasn’t even a bona fide thing until I realized I wanted to describe Suárez with the same term that I’d already used to describe Rojas. Rather than plagiarize myself, I decided to capitalize the letters and make it a recurring feature. Now, you will be able to tell your grandchildren where you were when the annual Most Interesting Player column was born.

Now that we’ve appeased the lawyers, let’s proceed. What makes Suárez so interesting? In terms of profile, he doesn’t really compare to Rojas circa 2023. Rojas was interesting because we’d never seen him before, but everything we’d heard about him suggested he was a player with a chance to make an unexpected impact on the Phillies’ title odds. He was one of those potential unknown commodities that end up being difference-makers on teams with dwindling resources and a fully matured roster-building process. Once upon a time, Shane Victorino was a Most Interesting Player. So was Vance Worley.

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Doesn’t sound much like Suárez, does it? Victorino and Worley were legit unknown commodities. Worley was 23 years old and three years removed from being drafted in the third round when he started 21 games, posted a 3.01 ERA, and placed third in the 2011 NL Rookie of the Year voting. Victorino was a 25-year-old Rule 5 pick whose old bosses decided they’d rather have $50,000 than accept him back into the organization.

Suárez? He’s a seventh-year big leaguer who is tied with Roy Halladay on the Phillies’ all-time postseason wins list. In the last decade, only four pitchers have logged more innings in red pinstripes than he has. We know Ranger Suárez. Right?

No. I don’t think that we do.

Suárez is the Timothy Olyphant in Live Free or Die Hard. A recognizable face and an integral part of the team. But, at the end of the day, we have no idea what he is capable of.

Except, we kind of do. We’ve seen it in each of the last three seasons. The upside.

“Two-hundred innings is a good goal,” Suárez said on Tuesday after throwing five scoreless innings against the Tigers in his penultimate start of the spring. “I want to throw as many innings as I can. … If I stay healthy, I know I can do that. I’ve had good seasons before, but I’ve battled injuries. If I stay healthy throughout the season, I’m going to be able to do what I can.”

We’ll get to the injuries in a second. Suárez’s track record is not one that requires a giant asterisk. First, though, let’s talk about what he can do when he is on the mound.

Consider the following factoid. Take some time to digest it. It’s a two-parter. From 2021-23, there were exactly 15 pitchers in the majors who posted an ERA+ of 130 in at least 380 innings. Now, here’s the important part. Besides Suárez, every single one of those pitchers has a top-six Cy Young Award finish during that stretch.

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Therein lies the intrigue. The last two Octobers have burnished Suárez’s reputation as a solid, dependable, rubber-armed everyman who makes up for his lack of top-end stuff with big tent utility. A pitcher for all situations, bought to you by Budweiser and “Dancing On My Own.”

In reality, he has been better than that. Much better. Which is why you don’t need much projection to see him turning in the kind of season that the Phillies will need to rattle off 100-plus wins and postpone the Braves’ division title celebration until at least the last week of the season.

Heck, he basically did it last season. Problem was, his season didn’t begin until May 30. Thanks to a forearm/elbow issue, he missed most of spring training. He then spent his first three regular-season starts pitching himself into game shape. After that, he was the most consistent starter in the rotation. Over the next 18 starts, he posted a 3.29 ERA in 109⅓ innings. We’ll toss out the post-clinch regular-season finale against the Pirates. The playoffs brought four more starts when he allowed four runs with 19 strikeouts and two walks in 18⅔ innings.

Suárez has been the same guy whenever he has been on the mound. The big difference right now is that he is actually on the mound. Which bodes well for 2024. He spent last season fighting from behind after the World Baseball Classic and the forearm issue. The two previous spring trainings got off to late starts due to visa issues. His 2022 debut didn’t come until April 11, and he posted a 3.65 ERA in 155⅓ innings. He began 2021 in the bullpen. Once he joined the rotation, he posted a 1.51 ERA in 65⅔ innings across 12 starts.

“Obviously when you’re not ready for spring training, you aren’t ready going to see as many batters,” Suárez said. “When you have a whole spring training, that means you are going to go five, six innings and you’ll face batters. That means that you’re ready to start the season.”

Let’s go back to those health concerns that Suárez referenced earlier. Last year’s forearm issue came amid the disruption of the World Baseball Classic, when he pitched for Venezuela. Later, he battled a hamstring injury that required an injured-list stint. That’s mostly the extent of the health concerns.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at Suárez’s year-by-year totals. If somebody shoved his baseball card in front of you and covered up the name, you’d assume that he was that kind of pitcher. Tyler Glasnow, James Paxton, Brandon Morrow from back in the day. Guys whose ability is routinely undermined by their lack of availability. But Suárez has been eminently available, once his season gets going.

» READ MORE: Johan Rojas is still not hitting much this spring. What are the Phillies’ options in center field?

The interesting part about this spring is that it is actually going. Suárez has made four starts, the most recent a brilliant outing against the Tigers when he struck out four and allowed one base runner. All that’s left is for the regular season to start.

Once it does, nobody should be surprised if Suárez ends up pitching himself into a serious long-term contract. Anybody who wants the Phillies to sign lingering free-agent starter Jordan Montgomery should keep that in mind. Suárez is on pace to hit the open market after 2025, his 29-year-old season. If he starts 30 games in 2024 and posts the same numbers he has over the last three seasons? That’s a big payday for him and a worthy contract for the Phillies. It won’t be Zack Wheeler/Aaron Nola in terms of magnitude. But it will be bigger than Taijuan Walker. Maybe as big as Montgomery.

“I’ve always been a Phillie. I’d like to remain a Phillie. The goal is to stay in the big leagues as long as possible,” Suárez said. “Of course I’d like an extension, but when we get to that topic, that’s not for me to handle, that’s for my agents.”

Like I said. Interesting.