Monday night, a series with a potential National League Wild Card feel to it kicked off at Great American Ball Park. The Cincinnati Reds have been playing some of their best ball lately, led by a surge from ever-improving Elly De La Cruz. The offense went wild in a weekend sweep of the Los Angeles Angels. But in game one, they ran into a buzzsaw in the form of Philadelphia Phillies rising star Ranger Suárez.
The Philadelphia Phillies' Ranger Suárez walked all over the Reds Monday, throwing seven shutout innings on just 88 pitches. It was the latest and greatest performance from the 28-year-old Suárez, who stepped up huge for Philly in last year's postseason and has only gotten better since, now enjoying the longest active scoreless inning streak in the league at 25 straight.
As the number three starter in his high-powered rotation, Suárez typically doesn't get much love in the public debate about the best pitchers in baseball. But all that is set to change, because it's time to shine light on the pitchers who have been dominating in the shadows. These are the most underrated pitchers in Major League Baseball so far in 2024.
Ranger Suárez, Philadelphia Phillies
What, you thought we were done talking about Ranger Suárez? Far from it. He's been enough of a revelation that we need a closer look at some of the underlying data. He's in the 97th percentile of pitching run value and the 92nd in expected ERA. So essentially, none of what he's doing is a fluke. And it's all because he's becoming a master of deception.
Suárez relies on a five-pitch mix and so far, the entire kitchen sink is working. His four-seam fastball is untouchable and that's because he only throws it 17% of the time. And his fourth offering, a change-up with massive vertical drop, has a 40.5% whiff rate this season, without allowing a hit.
Ranger Suárez is everything you want in a starting pitcher, especially one not at the top of the rotation. He's efficient with his pitch count, pounds the zone, fields his position better than anyone and believes his stuff is good enough to get out any hitter at any time. And so far this season, that is precisely what he has been doing.
José Berríos, Toronto Blue Jays
There's only one man who has taken the ball for five games in the 2024 season and produced five quality starts. And ironically enough, it's the man who wasn't given the opportunity to qualify for a quality start when he was mowing down the Minnesota Twins in last year's playoffs, José Berríos.
It's hard to say where the Toronto Blue Jays would be without Berríos early in this season. He's second in MLB in both ERA and bWAR, is the only starter with a perfect 4-0 record and the Blue Jays have won every time he's taken the mound. Not bad for a guy who was at various points considered the third or even fourth starter in Toronto over the past few seasons.
The only objectionable thing about Berríos' season so far is that Statcast thinks his ERA should be 4.28 instead of under one. But guess what: it's a results-based competition. Even if Berríos regresses somewhat as the season rolls on, he's proving he's capable of strapping a team to his back and there aren't many pitchers at his pay grade who can say the same.
If John Schneider is lucky enough to hand the ball to Berríos again in this year's playoffs, you can bet he'll be allowed to face the order more than once.
Paul Blackburn, Oakland Athletics
It's almost as if the Oakland Athletics have entered a state of even greater anonymity than a season ago, because they were significantly worse than they appear to be so far this year. A historically bad team gets talked about, but a team somewhere between third- and sixth-worst barely gets mentioned. But we should be talking about Paul Blackburn.
Blackburn made an All-Star team in 2022, but only because the Athletics needed a representative, going on to finish the season with an 86 ERA+. He might make it purely on merit this season, though, as he was the last qualified starting pitcher to give up a run this season and now boasts a 1.08 ERA in 25.1 innings pitched.
He's not the type to mow down a lineup with a barrage of strikeouts, but Blackburn is crafty as all heck. Plus, he's revamped his arsenal this season to great success, cutting down on his sinker usage by over 12% and relying far more on his changeup, which has decimated hitters. The team may not go far, but Blackburn can earn himself a nice contract if he keeps up this level of production, not to mention a potential trade to a real contender.
Justin Slaten, Boston Red Sox
If you had to guess, before reading this article, which reliever was leading all of baseball in bWAR, how many tries would it have taken before the name Justin Slaten came out of your mouth. The Rule 5 pickup who was promptly traded by the New York Mets has been a revelation for the Boston Red Sox, with a 0.63 ERA, 0.56 WHIP and 1.0 WAR through his first 14.1 innings as a big leaguer.
What makes Slaten awesome is his ability to chew through multiple innings in a single appearance while generating tons and tons of weak contact. He ranks in the 90th percentile in average exit velocity allowed and the 98th percentile with a .169 wOBA. The Red Sox haven't had someone like him since 2021 Garrett Whitlock, who was arguably the most valuable pitcher behind MLB FIP leader Nathan Eovaldi on the entire roster.
Slaten's story only gets better with time. He made his big league debut in Seattle, gave up a walk-off single to Julio Rodríguez, the first batter he faced, then proceeded to throw his next 12.1 innings without allowing another run to cross the plate.
Two other organizations gave up on him this past offseason, but he's found himself a home in Boston, and can be a part of a special pitching staff if they maintain the early success they've had in 2024.
Follow Us
Subscribe