Ruben Amaro Jr. gives credit to Phillies international scouting director for finding Ranger Suarez in 2012

Ruben Amaro Jr. was the general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012 when the team found and signed international 16-year-old free-agent Ranger Suarez for a signing bonus of $25,000.

Amaro Jr. gave all the credit to the team's international scouting director Sal Agostinelli.

"Sal Agostinelli," Amaro Jr. said immediately when asked about finding Suarez in 2012 on Wednesday's 94WIP Morning Show. "He doesn't get enough credit for the work that he has done over the years. You talk about working, there was nobody on the plane more than Sal Agostinelli…What he did the best of anyone was sign guys at lower dollar levels. You start thinking about guys like Chooch [Carlos Ruiz] and you start thinking about Ranger Suarez, these guys were not million dollar signs. These guys were thousand dollar signs.

"Really, it's Sal Agostinelli," Amaro Jr. reiterated. "I didn't see the player. I saw him as a youngster when he finally got to Clearwater and started pitching. The thing about [Suarez] is his personality hasn't really changed. Everyone one of his teammates loved him. He loved playing baseball and he's a great athlete.

"He's one of those guys that people just love to be around and he enjoyed playing baseball and he was just a baseball player."

On Tuesday night against the Rangers, Suarez pitched another gem , going 7.0 innings and striking out 10 while allowing just five hits and one earned run. Suarez earned his MLB leading 9th win (9-0) and improved his 2024 ERA to 1.36, second best in MLB.

His 1.36 ERA is the third lowest by a Phillie through the first 10 starts in a season since 1912 .