Money player | Sports Daily Newsletter

Ranger Suárez’s earned run average dropped to 2.00 Sunday after he pitched seven dazzling innings in a 2-1 victory against the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies left-hander is in a contract year and is about to get seriously paid.

In his last 10 starts, he has been all but unhittable. Opponents have batted .195 against him and he has a 1.19 ERA in that stretch.

“He’s changing speeds, he’s using all his pitches, he’s landing them, he’s keeping people off balance,” manager Rob Thomson says. “I think he’s pitching better than I’ve ever seen him pitch.”

The trick, of course, is sustaining this over the course of the season. Last year, Suárez made the All-Star team after he posted a 1.83 ERA through 16 starts. Then he hurt his back and pitched only 36⅔ innings after the All-Star break.

Suárez’s career high for innings in a season is 155⅓; Zack Wheeler has surpassed 180 innings six times. So the only question about Suárez is whether he can hold up in the long haul.

No matter. He’s still on pace for a boatload of money.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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❓ Steve Carlton is the Phillies’ greatest lefty ever. Who is No. 2 and why? Email us back for a chance to be featured in the newsletter.

Justin Crawford is only 21 years old, but the Phillies prospect shows every sign of being ready for the major leagues soon. The question is: How soon? Entering Sunday’s games, he led the International League in batting at .335.

Scott Lauber points out, though, that success in triple A does not always translate to the majors. Boston’s Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer and Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone, three of the most prized prospects in baseball, have struggled this season.

Calling Crawford up is a tough call for Dave Dombrowski. “You can do really well at triple A, and I mean, you can just look around, they come to the big leagues and they’re hitting below .200,” the Phillies’ president of baseball operations says. “So, it’s hard.”

It’s been even harder for the Phillies without Bryce Harper, who has been sidelined since June 7 with an achy right wrist. But Harper’s return to the lineup today is not out of the question, Rob Thomson says.

Next: The Phillies open a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres tonight at 6:35 (NBCSP). Zack Wheeler (7-3, 2.45 ERA) is set to pitch for the Phillies.

Kelly Oubre Jr. exercised his option for $8.3 million to return for next season with the Sixers, hours before the 5 p.m. Sunday deadline to do so. Oubre is coming off a down season (not as hellishly down as the Sixers, though) and vows to get “back to myself.” Meanwhile, the Sixers declined Lonnie Walker IV’s option and Eric Gordon decided to test the free-agent market.

The team rewarded former Imhotep Charter star Justin Edwards with a three-year contract after his productive rookie season.

After the Sixers took VJ Edgecombe in the first round of the draft, they picked up a big man. Their second-round pick, 6-foot-10 Johni Broome, built a reputation as a winner and a leader at Auburn.

Ahead of the NHL draft, Flyers general manager Danny Brière and assistant general manager Brent Flahr said that they were going to address their needs and pick the best player available. They did both in the first round by selecting winger Porter Martone at No. 6 and trading up for center Jack Nesbitt at No. 12.

By the time the Flyers wrapped things up at the draft, seven of their picks were listed at over 6-1. And some of these guys aren’t just tall, they are behemoths.

Jackie Spiegel gave the Flyers a good grade for their Day 2 selections.

On Saturday in the first game of the Club World Cup’s knockout rounds, Palmeiras had to battle Botafogo’s defense in an all-Brazilian matchup, and the green-clad fans who dominated the crowd of 33,657 at Lincoln Financial Field had to wait 100 minutes for a goal. It was worth the wait. Palmeiras advanced to the next round and will face Chelsea at the Linc on July 4.

In all, the stadium has played host to seven Club World Cup games in seven days. How has the field held up? We talked to Eagles grounds crew chief Tony Leonard about that and much more, including the flares that were thrown onto the turf.

June 30, 1992: The Flyers’ trade for Eric Lindros became official after an independent arbitrator ruled that they had the rights to him over the New York Rangers, who also had worked out a deal with the Quebec Nordiques. The Flyers sent Peter Forsberg, Ron Hextall, Mike Ricci, Kerry Huffman, Steve Duchesne, Chris Simon, $15 million in cash, and two first-round picks to Quebec for Lindros, who went on to a Hall of Fame career.

We asked you: Who’s your all-time favorite Philly draft pick, and why? Among the most interesting responses:

Charles Barkley. He brought youth and energy to a 76ers team with Dr. J. and Moses Malone that should have won a championship his rookie year. — Mike V.

My favorite Philly draft pick is Billy Cunningham UNC who was the 7th pick in the 1965 NBA draft. Bill came off the bench time after time in that 1966-67 season to spell either Luke Jackson or Chet Walker and often lit up the scoreboard with his efforts. He became a 5-time All-Star, a ’72-73 MVP, and won NBA-championships as a player and coach and is in the NBA Hall of Fame. A Philly icon and one of our most popular athletes ever. — Everett S.

The only right answer is The Answer. — D.W.S.

Mike Schmidt — 2nd round pick, 1971 baseball draft, best third baseman of all time. Not a bad selection. — Richard V.

Thanks to Ronald R. and Michael P., who also weighed in on this topic.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Scott Lauber, Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, Ariel Simpson, Jonathan Tannenwald, Jackie Spiegel, and Kerith Gabriel.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thanks for reading. I’ll see you in Tuesday’s newsletter. — Jim