Philadelphia Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo has been off to a blazing start to his 2025 MLB campaign with his new club. Luzardo’s performance has been so spectacular that he has put himself into the record books, per Paul Casella of MLB.com. By going unbeaten with a sub-2.00 ERA in his first 10 starts to the season, he has now joined some rare company with Grover Alexander and more notably Ranger Suárez just from last season as the only three Phillies in the history of the franchise to accomplish the feat.
The Phillies certainly couldn’t ask for more from Luzardo, who was acquired in a trade with the Miami Marlins this past offseason to bolster the back end of the rotation. The 27-year-old lefty not only has performed beyond expectations, but he has even flashed ace-like potential in the process.
Jesús Luzardo is right where Ranger Suárez was last year before things fell apart
But one thing to keep in mind is that Suárez also displayed this type of dominance in 2024 in his first 10 starts as well. We all know how that turned out, when he compiled a less-than-stellar 3-8 record with a 5.10 ERA and 1.52 WHIP, giving up a whopping 48 earned runs in just 84 2/3 innings in his subsequent 17 starts to conclude the year.
So the Phillies better hope that Luzardo doesn’t suffer the same fate as his fellow lefty this time around. One thing that Luzardo, who battled elbow and back injuries last season, has working on his side this year has been his health. He has looked great in his 11 starts to date, posting a perfect 5-0 record with a tidy 2.15 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, along with giving up just three home runs and 19 walks with 77 strikeouts in 67 innings of work.
As for Suárez, he ran into injury woes with his back for the latter half of 2024, which no doubt had some impact on his effectiveness down the stretch. Therefore, if Luzardo can keep himself relatively healthy this year and finally put away his injury issues from last season, there is a good chance his dominance will be more sustainable in the long run.
If so, it bodes well for the Phillies’ rotation, as together with Suárez, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez, they have arguably the best starting five in all of baseball. In fact, Philadelphia starters currently rank first in the league in wins (22) and strikeouts (338), second in innings pitched (305) and fourth in ERA (3.22) entering play on Monday.
Considering that they have accomplished that with a struggling Nola to start 2025, the Phillies could be even more unstoppable if he manages to turn things around after he returns from his injury.
Nevertheless, with Luzardo suddenly leading the way for Philadelphia and winning over the Phillies fans at the same time, they could suddenly find themselves in the midst of an even greater season than last year.