How Much Impact Will Ranger Suarez Have on the Phillies Playoff Race

The Philadelphia Phillies (66-46) enter Tuesday with the second-best combined starter's ERA in MLB this season at 3.39. While the usual Phillies suspects, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola , have both played a big part in the rotation's success as they usually do, Ranger Suarez has played just as pivotal a role.

Despite his success on the mound this season, he has faced some setbacks. For the better part of a month, Suarez has been dealing with lower back soreness, which caused him to skip the All-Star Game festivities in July, and currently sees him on the 15-day injured list. So, how much of an impact will Suarez have on the Phillies playoff race when he returns?

In a recent article from Bleacher Report , Kerry Miller ranked the top ten MLB players that will have the biggest impact on their team's playoff race when they return. Miller ranked Suarez ninth, and had this to say about the young lefty's start to the season:

"Through 14 starts, he had a 1.77 ERA and had emerged as one of the top candidates for NL Cy Young . Phillies hitters sure did love it when Suárez was on the bump, too, giving him at least five runs of support in 13 of those 14 games, winning all 13 of those contests."

On the weeks prior to Suarez's injured list stint:

"Suárez started to struggle, posting a 5.73 ERA over his six most recent appearances. The run support vanished, too, held to either one or two runs in five of those six starts. And things have really taken a turn for the worse for the Phillies as of late, losing six consecutive series and desperately missing Suárez's turns through the rotation."

On Suarez's return:

"You can't rush lower back injuries, but the Phillies need first-half-of-the-season Suárez back ASAP, if only to provide some sort of slump-busting spark before it's too late."

Suarez currently holds a 2.87 ERA on the season across 119 1/3 innings with 116 strikeouts and a 142 ERA+ over 20 starts.

Since Suarez's stay on the injured list began, the Phillies have relied on Kolby Allard to fill the fifth spot in the rotation. Allard has made pitched in two games, one as a follower, pitching four innings in both, allowing a total of four earned runs across eight innings and carrying a 95 ERA+.

While Allard has been much better than anyone expected him to, he is still no Ranger Suarez.

If the Phillies get a fully healthy Suarez back, that can even perform half as well as he did through his first 14 starts, the Phillies can run away with the division like they did in the first half of the season.

Suarez in the rotation performing that well, alleviates some of the stress and pressure off of the rest of the rotation, which helps them perform better in their own starts, and lengthens the rotation to depths most teams have only dreamt about.

While missing Ranger Suarez being in the rotation is not the only issue the Phillies have faced of late, it definitely does not help the situation. The Phillies will be a more complete team once he does return, and he may give them the nudge they need to get back on the course they laid for themselves in the first half of the season.