Ranger Suarez was born in the Venezuelan town of Pie de Cuesta on August 26, 1995. Suárez’s father, Ricardo, was a Venezuelan farmer, and he spent his childhood playing baseball and soccer. He spent most of his time in the outfield, but at the age of 15, he began throwing.
Suárez was signed as an international free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2012 for a signing bonus of $25,000 USD.
He made his professional baseball debut with the Venezuelan Summer League (VSL) Phillies when he was sixteen years old, throwing in three games as the team’s closer. Suárez struck out four batters and recorded two saves in five innings of work.
Suárez’s season was cut short in July after he was discovered to have violated the Minor League Baseball (MiLB) drug policy. Suárez and teammate pitcher Daniel Cordero were both banned for 50 games after testing positive for the anabolic drug Stanozolol.
The next year, he returned to the VSL and pitched 17 innings with a 3.18 ERA, eight runs allowed, and 13 strikeouts.