Nationals Star Prospect Jarlin Susana Should Absolutely Compete in Arizona Fall League
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On Wednesday, star Washington Nationals prospect Jarlin Susana made his return to Double-A.
Following a surgical procedure he underwent on his lat last year, the flamethrowing right-hander had been on the shelf for the entire season until he was sent on his rehab assignment to High-A Wilmington back on Aug. 11.
Predictably, Susana dominated. While he did give up four earned runs in his second start, he finished his rehab stint with 13 strikeouts to three walks across 6 1/3 innings pitched. And after toeing the rubber for Harrisburg on Wednesday, the 22-year-old showed no signs of slowing down with a dominant 2 2/3 innings performance where he allowed just one hit and struck out four with one walk.
Jarlin Susana Highlighted as Someone Who Should Participate in Arizona Fall League
Unfortunately for both Susana and the Nationals, that outing on Wednesday was just his fourth of the season. And for someone who could be pushing for a spot on the major league roster at some point next year, he won't have a ton of innings accrued during the 2026 campaign.
That's where the Arizona Fall League could come into play. And that's one of the reasons why the staff at MLB Pipeline highlighted Susana as someone who should compete in the AFL this year.
"... He's been rehabbing there and not making very deep outings so far as his season high in a single outing is 2 2/3 innings. ... This is the perfect opportunity to pick up more innings, get it against good competition and maybe it can be a springboard for him for next year," wrote Sam Dykstra.
At the time of writing, three top 100 prospects are already committed to participating in the Arizona Fall League this year; Caleb Bonemer (Chicago White Sox - No. 30 overall), Arjun Nimmala (Los Angeles Angels - No. 38 overall) and Aiva Arquette (Miami Marlins - No. 63 overall).
Why Jarlin Susana Should Compete in AFL
To me, barring health, it's a complete no-brainer for Washington to send Susana to the AFL this fall.
They've already seen the benefits of their top prospects competing in that showcase event, as infielder Seaver King turned his career around following his participation out in the desert, and the high-end play of left-handed pitcher Jake Bennett allowed the Nationals to use him in a trade to bring in right-handed pitching prospect Luis Perales.
Susana needs reps, and he'll get that in the Arizona Fall League against some of the best competition he's faced in his career to date. The first goal for the rest of this season is for him to stay healthy. Then, once that takes place, Washington should decide to send the top prospect to the AFL.
It makes too much sense for them not to do that, so expect to see another high-profile Nationals prospect headlining the group sent to Arizona later this year.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai