The Arizona Fall League has become a proving ground for Nationals prospects, and this year’s Salt River Rafters group has already produced a few performances worth circling. Washington has nine players in the league, and three in particular have stood out: Jarlin Susana, Kevin Bazzell and Teo Banks.
Susana is the headliner, and it’s easy to see why. The right-hander has been touching 102 MPH consistently for Salt River, and the radar-gun readings are only part of the story.
Through 16 innings, he owns a 4.50 ERA, but the deeper numbers paint a much more intimidating picture. His Stuff+ sits at 113.7, which ranks third among all AFL pitchers and first among those who have faced at least 25 hitters.
He’s also missing bats at a high level, with a 30% whiff rate and a 36.4% chase rate that both sit near the top of the league. Even the walks haven’t really derailed him, as his 12.5% walk rate is above average for AFL pitchers.
When hitters do connect, Susana has been more vulnerable, posting a 45.5% hard-hit rate. Still, the ball hasn’t been coming off the bat the way opponents want, and his 0% barrel rate in the AFL reflects that. If he carries this kind of performance into Triple-A to open 2027, the Nationals could be looking at a fast track to the majors.
Bazzell has been just as impressive in a different way. The Nationals took the catcher in the third round in 2024, and his path has already included a rough 2025 season, when he put up an 87 wRC+ in 84 games at Low A.
He bounced back in 2026 with a 125 wRC+ in 66 games between High A and Double A, and that momentum has carried straight into the Fall League. In 45 plate appearances, Bazzell has posted a 1.078 OPS for the Rafters.
He’s not known for big power, but he has shown more of it in Arizona, with a .181 ISO and a .545 SLG. What has always made Bazzell interesting is his ability to get on base, and that part of his game has been on display too.
He’s hitting .364 with a .533 OBP in the AFL. The 23-year-old is likely to start next season at Double-A, and if the bat keeps playing like this, he could be pushing toward the big leagues by the end of the year.
Banks is the most intriguing of the three because the results have been so uneven up to this point in his career. The 18th-round pick out of Tulane in 2024 struggled in 2025 with a 29 wRC+ in 65 games, then followed that with a 90 wRC+ in 92 games at High A in 2026. But in the Fall League, he’s looked far more dangerous, putting together a 1.064 OPS in 71 plate appearances.
His approach still needs work, and the chase rate shows it at 30.9%. Even so, the rest of the profile is encouraging.
Banks has trimmed the swing-and-miss to a 16.1% whiff rate, and his 88.1 MPH average exit velocity suggests the power is real. When he controls the swing-and-miss, he can do damage, and that’s exactly what he’s doing for Salt River right now.
With 2027 shaping up as a key year for him, this AFL run is a strong sign.
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