Jarlin Susana keeps finding the upper end of the radar gun.
The Nationals’ No. 4 prospect and No. 66 overall prospect in MLB reached Triple-A Rochester this season and is now pitching in the Arizona Fall League, where he has already made noise with pure velocity. In the Salt River Rafters’ opener earlier this month, the right-hander fired a 103.8 mph four-seamer, setting the record for the fastest pitch thrown in the AFL since 2015.
That kind of heat has been part of the story all along. Susana was acquired from the Padres in the 2022 Juan Soto deal, and at 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, he brings a bigger-than-life look to the mound to go with the fastball.
“I don't really know how to put it outside of saying, if I walked into a [Washington] Commanders practice -- which I actually did a couple weeks ago -- and he was in pads with the line, I'd be like, ‘Yeah, that guy looks like a stud NFL player,’” Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said.
Susana’s path back to the mound hasn’t been simple. After he sustained a Grade 1 UCL sprain last year, he returned on Aug. 11 and logged 20 1/3 innings between High-A Wilmington, Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A. The AFL is giving him a chance to build that workload back up.
The stuff has played immediately at higher levels. After Susana was promoted from the Senators to the Red Wings on Sept. 15, he only threw 2 2/3 innings, but his brief time at Rochester still offered a clear snapshot.
He averaged 99.9 mph on 39 fastballs, the highest average velocity of any Triple-A pitcher who threw as many fastballs as he did. On Sept. 18, he reached 102.6 mph, and only 13 other Triple-A pitchers threw a pitch harder all season.
The challenge, as always with premium velo, is harnessing it. Susana has a Minor League career 4.8 walk rate against a 13.0 strikeout rate. In his first two AFL games this year, he has posted a 1.59 ERA, a 3.2 walk rate and a 12.7 strikeout rate over 5 2/3 innings.
Toboni recently shared a story that captures the raw power Susana has brought with him even during rehab at the Nationals' Florida facility. Rehab coordinator Dan Mahoney told him to stay in the 97-99 mph range “as you get loose.”
Susana didn’t exactly stick to the script.
He hit 100-plus, and when Mahoney tried to pull him back down, Toboni said the message was repeated: “Jarlin, I’m telling you, you have to have it closer to 97. We don't want to ramp it up this quickly.”
Susana’s response? He agreed, then went right back to triple digits.
“[Susana] just turned to him and he's like, ‘I'm trying. I'm trying,’” Toboni said. “So, he's just a unique bird in that respect.”
For now, the radar-gun readings are impossible to ignore. What comes next is the bigger question Toboni kept coming back to: how well Susana can command the zone, and how quickly the Nationals should layer in more to his mix as he matures on the mound.
“I think he's got some physical traits that not many in the world have,” said Toboni. “Now, I think it just becomes about how well could he fill up the zone.
And I think there are adjustments to his mix that when he is fully mature from a pitching standpoint, it's just going to look a little bit different. And so, I think a lot of the conversation comes about how quickly should we try to inject some of this stuff.”
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