Can Ranger Suarez Join Greg Maddux In This Exclusive Club?
Ranger Suarez is off to the best start of his career. He has arguably been the best pitcher in Baseball. But could he end up joining Greg Maddux, and other legendary pitchers, in a very rare club?
Only 7 pitchers have ever won the Cy Young Award, and a Gold Glove, in the same season
- Bob Gibson
- Oral Hershiser
- Clayton Kershaw
- Dallas Keuchel
- Greg Maddux
- Jim Palmer
- Bret Saberhagen
Can Ranger Suarez Win The Cy Young?
This will be the more difficult part. The competition is stiff, even on his own team. But the question is does he have a case? It is obviously very early. But if the season ended right now, he would deserve it.
His 1.32 ERA is 3rd in the NL, behind Reynaldo Lopez of the Braves, and Shota Imanaga of the Cubs, who each have a sub 1.0 ERA. But he has thrown the equivalent of two extra games than them. In Lopez’s case that is literal, with Ranger having 6 starts to his 4. But even Imanaga, who has 5 starts, has thrown 13.1 fewer innings than Ranger.
That should matter. We saw a few years ago they gave Corbin Burnes the Cy Young over Zack Wheeler. Looking back, that was a mistake. Wheeler threw 46.1 more innings, despite only pitching 4 more games. He pretty much threw 7 extra games than Burnes. Or if we go off of how many inning Burnes pitches per game, 9 extra games.
Going later into games makes you a better pitcher. You are literally doing more for your team than one of those pitchers who only pitches 5 innings into game. It makes a difference. Well this year, Ranger is going later into games than anyone with 41 innings pitched over 6 games, just under 7 per game.
Only Tyler Glasnow has pitched more innings this season than Ranger. But that is only 2 more innings, despite one extra start. Among pitchers with 6 starts, Ranger is the leader with Innings Pitched. He has already gone at least 7 innings 3 times this year, despite doing it just 10 times in his career before this season.
His WHIP of 0.63 leads the entire league. He is allowing a baserunner every other inning. He only has 5 walks, and batters hit .153 off of him. Ranger is also 5th in the league with 40 strikeouts. He is also 1 of only 4 pitchers to throw a complete game shutout.
Some of that is getting to pitch to the Whitesox and Rockies. But in his last 2 outings, he did this against the Padres and Reds, both of whom are top 10 lineups so far. The Padres couldn’t do anything against him last night. It took until the 8th inning for them to score a run off of him.
It is not an exaggeration to say he is a CY Young frontrunner. To this point, he has been the best pitcher in baseball. And that is not just me saying it, Jayson Stark said the same thing when he joined The Best Show Ever earlier in the week. And that was before he gave up 1 run over 8 innings to the Padres.
The problem may be his teammates stealing votes from him. Zack Wheeler, and even Aaron Nola, are having Cy Young caliber seasons as well. But the point is Ranger Suarez, in a small sample size, is deserving of being in the Cy Young conversation.
What About The Gold Glove?
This one is easier. If Ranger Suarez had played a full season, he may already have a Gold Glove or 2. He makes fielding his position look easy. Just casually making difficult plays like it is nothing.
In 2022, Ranger Suarez had a DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) of 9. The next best pitcher, Taijuan Walker, was 6. The NL Gold Glove winner that year, Tyler Anderson, had 5. DRS is a cumulative stat, meaning the more you play the more it should go up. Anderson pitched 20 more innings than Ranger and his DRS was still 4 runs lower.
Ranger’s glove is elite. If he stays healthy, he should finally get the Gold Glove he deserves. At the very least he will be one of the finalists. Though his own teammates may be his competition. last season Zack Wheeler and Taijuan Walker made up 2 of the 3 finalists for the NL Gold Glove. Wheeler wound up winning it.
Ranger Suarez Taking The Next Step
We knew Ranger was special, he showed it every year in the playoffs. He just had never put it together for a full season. Visa issues and injuries always hampered him out of the gate.
To this point, he had never been a 3rd time through the batting order type of guy. Rob Thomson would usually pull him after 5 innings. But now, like Wheeler and Nola, he goes deep into games. We have seen him face batters 3, or even 4 times, and not blink.
Getting to Spring Training early, and being healthy, helps. For once he had a full off-season of preparation. It is also just the maturity of a pitcher though. He is not blowing people away with 100 mph fastballs. Ranger pitches smart, and he locates his pitches perfectly.
Whether or not he does join this club, or wins either award, we are witnessing Ranger Suarez turn into an Ace. He has had this level to his game all along. Now that he has unlocked it, the Phillies rotation can truly be something special.
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