Philadelphia Phillies: Midseason grades for starting pitchers
By Tim Boyle
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher midseason grade for Aaron Nola: A-
Aaron Nola has been victimized by some poor run-support and blown games by the bullpen this season. In 19 starts, he has gone 6-7 with an impressive 3.13 ERA. He gets a strong A- for his effort with an opportunity to trend upward.
Maybe it’s the below .500 record which has allowed Nola’s season to go mostly overlooked. Snubbed out of the All-Star Game, we should hope he does take it personal. More so, we should be glad if the extra rest does allow him to gear up for what could be the most important second half of his career.
Nola has never gotten back to the Cy Young candidate he was in 2018. This season is close. Nola has gotten the job done. We need to hope he can finish strong—something he has struggled to do in the past.
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher midseason grade for Ranger Suarez: C+
It’s safe to say Ranger Suarez had a hugely disappointing year for the Phillies thus far until his most recent start off of the IL which has given him some much better numbers. The first 16 starts include a 7-5 record and 4.07 ERA. After last year’s 1.36 ERA performance in 12 starts and 27 appearances out of the bullpen, one has to wonder what lies ahead for him in the future.
Control was an issue for Suarez before landing on the IL. With a walk rate of 3.5 per nine and strikeouts coming at a rate of only 7.3 per nine, he isn’t anywhere close to the dominant arm he was for them last season.
The Phillies bought into what Suarez did last year and rolled with him in their starting five for the 2022 campaign. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he ends up back in the bullpen at some point even with a trend in the right direction right before the All-Star break.