Nationals Star Prospect Jarlin Susana Left Much To Be Desired in Triple-A Debut

On Friday night, two of the Washington Nationals' current stars -- Cade Cavalli and CJ Abrams -- made some franchise history. But that wasn't the only notable thing taking place for the franchise.

Down on the farm, top prospect Jarlin Susana made his highly-anticipated Triple-A debut. The right-hander returned from injury in mid-August, and he has worked his way up to the point where he is just one step away from the majors.

Unfortunately, Susana left a lot to be desired on Friday. And if what took place with Rochester is a sign of things to come, then it could be a while before the right-hander is starring for the Nationals.

Jarlin Susana Underwhelms in Triple-A Debut

Washington Nationals prospect Jarlin Susana visits with catcher Maxwell Romero Jr. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Susana turned some heads with his triple-digit fastball, but he's done that throughout his career.

Of course, touching 102.6 mph -- the third-fastest pitch in the International League this year -- is not something to ignore. He also averaged 101 mph on the 19 four-seam fastballs and sinkers he threw across his 2 2/3-inning outing, which is nothing short of impressive. However, to be a high-end pitching in the MLB, Susana will have to show more as a pitcher, and that's what he failed to do on Friday.

Susana was pulled from his start after he allowed four earned runs across those 2 2/3 innings. He walked four batters and struck out three, which shows that his control was all over the place. That has been a problem for Susana during his career, and there are concerns that those issues will come back to bite him in the majors.

There is plenty of time for the 22-year-old to improve that aspect of his game. Despite being signed as an international free agent in 2022, he's still an inexperienced pitcher who needs developmental work with less than 300 professional innings to his name. But Washington has to get things fixed on that front as soon as possible, especially because it appears like he's going to make his big league debut at some point next season based on the current timeline he's on.

Since coming back from his extended absence, Susana has walked 11 batters across 20 1/3 innings this year. That BB rate of 11.7% is not going to get it done, which was evident during his Triple-A debut when the Buffalo Bisons jumped all over his mistakes.

That doesn't mean fans shouldn't be excited about Susana and what he brings to the table. He's ranked No. 3 in Washington's pipeline and No. 66 overall for a reason, and that is largely due to his electric fastball and dominant strikeout stuff.

But for him to become the high-end pitcher that everyone envisions, he has to clean up his walks.

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