Nationals' Star Prospect Jarlin Susana Shows High Ceiling and Limitations in AFL Debut

Arizona Fall League action for 2026 is now underway, which means Washington Nationals fans are able to get another glimpse at star pitching prospect Jarlin Susana heading into next year.

The flamethrowing right-handed pitcher was the headliner of the group that the Nationals sent to the desert, and with him slated to be used largely as a starter in this showcase event, Washington will get a better idea of if he can actually be a rotation piece for them down the line or not.

On Saturday, Susana made his debut for the Salt River Rafters in the team's AFL opener. He flashed a lot of positives during that outing, but he also showcased the limitations he has, as well, which continues to create a murky picture about what his future role looks like.

Jarlin Susana Shows Off Ridiculous Velocity

Washington Nationals prospect Jarlin Susana | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

The one thing that stands out when it comes to Susana is his stuff, as he possesses a triple-digit fastball and wipeout slider that some evaluators believe is actually his best pitch.

Well, it should be no surprise that his fastball velocity stood out on Saturday. Throwing both a four-seamer and two-seamer, Susana averaged 101.6 mph on his heater. He threw 36 total fastballs. Only one of them did not reach the 100 mph range, while he topped out at 103.8.

Per Statcast, this is the breakdown of his fastball velocity during his outing:

-100-100.9 mph: 9 pitches
-101-101.9 mph: 13 pitches
-102-102.9 mph: 7 pitches
-103 mph or higher: 6 pitches

Those are ridiculous numbers, and with all the attention that Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers and Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres get due to their consistent heat, Susana appears like he is going to be in that conversation whenever he arrives in The Show.

Poor Command Led to High Number of Walks

But the main issue surrounding Susana was on display, too, as he could not locate his pitches during the early part of his start on Saturday.

Susana walked the first batter he faced. Then, after recording a strikeout, he walked another batter to put runners on first and second with one out. He got out of that jam by inducing a fly out and another strikeout, but he was all over the place with his command, as he only threw 12 of his 26 pitches in the first inning for strikes.

The 22-year-old eventually settled into his start and shined, though. He finished with no earned runs allowed and just one hit given up across 3 1/3 innings pitched. His two first-inning walks were the only ones he issued during his outing, as he also rung up four and picked up a win in his AFL debut.

Still, the command concerns are always going to be there until he improves that. For his minor league career, he has a BB/9 of 4.8, which calls into question whether he can be an effective arm in the majors barring some substantial changes.

Good First Impression

With all of that said, it should be pointed out that this was a good first impression for Susana in the Arizona Fall League, as he didn't let his lack of command early on spiral things out of control.

Instead, he settled into his outing after he got out of the first-inning jam and only allowed one baserunner the rest of the way. If that's what the top 100 prospect can do for the remainder of his time out in the desert, then that almost assuredly guarantees his MLB callup at some point in 2027.

All eyes will continue to be on Susana throughout his time out in the Arizona Fall League, as he not only is someone to pay attention to for Nationals fans. But he's also guaranteed to turn heads with the velocity of his fastball.

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