As Ranger Surez threw just his 97th pitch of the Martin Perez Jersey afternoon on Sept. 25, 2021, he to sed the first complete game of his career, a "Maddux" against the Pittsburgh Pirates. His ERA on the season fell to an impre sive 1.45 in 99 innings pitched.The Phillies had won the game 3-0, and Philadelphia personnel was confident that they had succe sfully converted the Venezuelan reliever to a starter, solidifying their 2022 rotation in the proce s.The rotation consisting of Surez, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin, and Kyle Gibson, was ranked highly amongst most baseball outlets coming into the season. went so far as to rank them third in all of Tyler Thornburg Jersey MLB in theirIn April, the highly-touted Phillies' rotation did not perform up to expectations. However, Wheeler got a late start in spring training due to a setback in his workload, Eflin was returning from a season-ending injury in 2021, and Suarez was behind after arriving late to camp as well. It wasn't time to panic just yet.But as the calendar flips to May, and the Phillies' fall farther behind in the National League East standings, panic mode has begun to settle inespecially regarding the southpaw Surez.Scroll to ContinueIn five starts this season, Surez has pitched to a 4.63 ERA, 5.30 FIP and 5.01 xERA. He's also walking more and striking out fewer batters than last season, a 2.8 BB/9 has increased to 3.9, while a 9.1 K/9 has decreased to 5.8. Additionally, he's already tied his 2021 total for home runs allowed in 2022 Carl Yastrzemski Jersey with four.According to , Surez is struggling to mi s bats, as he ranks in the 9th percentile in Whiff% and has dropped to the 11th percentile in K% as well. Meanwhile, the xBA on his sinker, which he throws most often, is .285, and on his change-up, .290.Surez's poor start begs the question: have the Phillies put too much faith in him following his improbable 2021? After all, the 26-year-old's stellar numbers were inflated by his bout in the bullpen during the first-half Jimmie Foxx Jersey of the season, in which he posted a 1.12 ERA in 40.1 innings.If this is the case, the Phillies have a real problem on their hands moving forward. Surez could still turn things around and be what the Phillies need him to Alex Verdugo Jersey be, but with Eflin continuing to underperform, Nola being unpredictable, Wheeler being unable to replicate his Cy Young runner-up season, and the organizational pitching depth being pretty much nonexistent, they need to figure it out fast.Philadelphia may have to spin a trade, and they might not be able to wait until the deadline in August.More From SI's :