Biography
AS A SENIOR (2017)
Played all 53 games as the starting centerfielder for the defending National Champions, leading the team with 73 hits and 24 stolen bases on the year, earning him All-SSC Second Team honors following the season... Recorded a team-high 22 multi-hit games, including nine 3-hit games... Drove in a career-high four runs on Opening Night in an 11-2 defeat of Tusculum (Feb. 3), getting the scoring started in the bottom of the first, clearing the bases with a 3-run double, his first trip to the plate wearing #21 in honor of fallen teammate Dallas Perez... Set a new career-high with five RBI in a 16-7 victory at Lynn (Mar. 4) as part of a 3-hit performance, including a 9th-inning grand slam, his first of three home runs during the season... Stole multiple bases in three straight games from Feb. 25 through Mar. 4, part of a streak of 17 consecutive successful stolen base attempts, including two games with three each: at Lynn on Mar. 3 and vs. Tampa on Mar. 18... Finished the season 24-of-26 (92.3%) on stolen base attempts, the third-best single-season rate in the program's NCAA history among players with at least 20 attempts... Tallied 48 runs scored, 42 driven in, nine doubles, two triples, three home runs, 22 walks, 5 hit by pitches, six sacrifice flies and four sacrifice hits... Batted .343 with a .407 on-base percentage and a .446 slugging percentage... Completed his career with a .338 batting average on 149 hits in 111 games, with 20 doubles, four triples and six home runs, for a .442 slugging percentage, as well as 44 walks and 10 hit by pitches for a .404 on-base percentage, while scoring 92 runs and driving in 73... 47 career stolen bases out of 52 attempts, for a rate of 90.4%, the NCAA-era record for players with at least 30 attempts over two or more seasons.
SUMMER 2016
Suarez started 15 of his 16 games played for the Winchester Royals, patrolling centerfield for all 136 of his innings in the Valley Baseball League. He hit two home runs, with seven walks and six stolen bases, while scoring and driving in nine runs each. Despite a slow start, he rebounded to hit .317 with a .412 on-base and .488 slugging in his last 13 games, with hits in 10 of 12 starts, and making just one error on 32 chances. He was 2-5 with a run, RBI, walk and two stolen bases on June 17th and again stole two bases, this time with a hit, a walk and two runs scored on June 26th. He drove in two runs in back-to-back games on June 22nd and 24th, and followed that up with his first homer on June 25th, his second homer coming just three games later on June 29th.
AS A JUNIOR (2016)
Played in and started 58 of 60 games, all in center field, for the NCAA Division II National Champion Sharks… Broke the program record by reaching base in 42 consecutive games, a three-month streak that started in St. Augustine, Fla. (Feb. 27 at Flagler) and ended at the NCAA Division II Baseball Championship in Cary, N.C. (May 31 vs. Lander), with a .421 on-base percentage during that time… Had his first of eight season-high three-hit games in the second game of the season, with a double and two RBI on Jan. 30 vs. Newberry, and his second two games later, an 11-8 victory at Alabama-Huntsville on Feb. 5… Recorded a season-high three runs scored and three runs driven in, hitting his first home run as a Shark and finishing a triple shy of the cycle in a 19-6 win over Eckerd… Stole a season-high three bases in another three-hit game on Mar. 19 in a 7-4 win at No. 1 Tampa, to secure a Sharks’ series victory over the defending national champion Spartans for the second year in a row… Matched season-highs of three hits and three RBI and was again a triple shy of the cycle on Apr. 16 to complete a series sweep of Rollins with a 10-3 victory… Scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning of a 2-1 win over Millersville, the first game of the national championship series, and hit his third home run of the season in the 8-6 victory the next day to help secure the first National Championship in program history… Finished the season with a .333 batting average, .401 on-base percentage and .439 slugging percentage… Led the team with 23 stolen bases out of 26 attempts and was second with 76 hits… Also scored 44 times, drove in 31 runs and collected 11 doubles and two triples… Reached base safely in 52 of the 58 games he played in.
SUMMER 2015
Played in seven games for Sanford River Rats of the Florida Collegiate Summer League, including one game in their annual Korean Series.
PREVIOUS SCHOOL
Played two years for the Wabash Valley College Warriors for 2014 Great Rivers Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Rob Fournier in Mount Carmel, Ill. as their starting CF… Displayed incredible speed and base running efficiency, successfully stealing 56 bases out 58 attempts for 96.6% success rate… Named to both the All-GRAC and All-Region XXIV First Teams in 2014 and 2015… Posted a .380 batting average and .460 on-base percentage as a freshman in 2014… Career batting line of .356/.437/.451 in 444 plate appearances… Played in 102 games and started 99 in his two seasons… Led the team in at bats (181), doubles (13), and stolen bases (31) as a sophomore… Held a .985 fielding percentage for his career, committing just three errors in two seasons.
HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Christopher Columbus HS in Miami, Fla., where he played four years for Joe Weber, HSBN District Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2013, and was teammates with Sharks relief pitcher Gil Torres… Hit .329 in his senior season, drawing 19 walks, for a .460 on-base percentage, and stole 20 bases, to help lead the Explorers to a 19-7 record, as well as a 2012 district title… In 2010, they were ranked by Baseball America as the #1 high school team in the country.
PERSONAL
Born in Miami, Fla.… Sports management major with a minor in accounting… Son of Jose and Yoanis Suarez… Has two older brothers, Jose and Andy, and one younger sister, Unisis… Andy was a 9th round draft pick out of Columbus in 2011 by Toronto, but instead chose to play for the University of Miami Hurricanes, where he was teammates with Thomas Woodrey, brother of Sharks baseball alumni Scott and Ryan Woodrey, as well as former Shark Sebastian Diaz, and signed with the San Francisco Giants after being drafted in the second round, 61st overall, in the 2015 draft, making his Major League debut on April 11, 2018… Most memorable athletic achievement is being named regional first team two years in a row in junior college… Favorite foods are arroz con pollo and pizza… Favorite movie is Anchorman 2… Favorite TV show is Blue Mountain State… Favorite pro athlete is Jose Altuve… Favorite historical person is Roberto Clemente… Favorite pro team is the Miami Marlins.
