What would have happened if Ranger Suárez had been called up to the majors sooner than May 9? Or what if he had been named a starter sooner than August 2? Would the Phillies have made the playoffs? No, probably not. Would Suárez have been able to maintain his incredible run of dominance over a full season? Again, probably not. Suárez was incredible in 2021, but we can’t say with any certainty that he could have kept that up or lead the Phillies to the postseason.
But there is one “what if” scenario that I’m quite confident about – if Ranger Suárez had been able to pitch 56+ more innings, he would have been a serious contender for the NL Cy Young and almost surely would have won the ERA title.