Travis Sykora, Jarlin Susana Given Interesting Spots in Updated Prospect Rankings
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MLB Pipeline updated their top 100 prospect rankings for everyone in a Major League Baseball organization, and things appear to be favorable for the Washington Nationals.
Eli Willits, their shocking No. 1 overall pick from this year's draft, debuted at a great spot.
But he wasn't the only one who was viewed favorably by the crew at MLB Pipeline.
Pitchers Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana also found themselves on the list.
That is a good sign for the Nationals going forward considering how poor their pitching staff has been this season. But with the injury to Sykora that will keep him out least all of 2025 and potentially parts of 2026, the outlook still is a bit murky for them on the pitching side of things.
Still, it's notable that the right-hander made the top 100 despite that injury, which points to how talented he is and what his ceiling might be.
Here's where the two of them came in on the updated rankings list.
Travis Sykora - No. 46
Sykora has been nothing short of incredible since he's joined Washington's organization.
Selected in the third round of the 2023 draft, he turned heads during his first professional season the following year when he posted a 2.33 ERA across 20 starts at Single-A, striking out 129 batters with 27 walks in 85 innings pitched.
After dealing with an injury issue earlier this season, he was sent to High-A where he was once again spectacular.
In six starts with Wilmington, he posted a 1.21 ERA and struck out 47 batters in 29 2/3 innings pitched, walking only eight in the process.
That earned him a promotion to Double-A Harrisburg on June 26, which made it seem like he was on track to potentially break the starting rotation with the Nationals on Opening Day in 2026 or some time later that year.
Unfortunately, after his two starts with Harrisburg where he struggled, he was moved to the injured list and later diagnosed with an elbow issue that needed Tommy John surgery.
The hope is this will be a quick recovery for Sykora.
At 21 years old, if he has to miss the next two seasons, that would put a wrench in his career and the plans of the organization moving forward.
Jarlin Susana - No. 73
Susana is an interesting prospect.
As the owner of a triple-digit fastball, he has been able to rack up strikeout numbers during his minor league career, but he also owns a 4.08 ERA across 64 appearances (63 starts).
The good news is he seems to have figured something out.
Susana struck out 157 batters in 103 2/3 innings last year at the Single- and High-A levels. That was a huge jump in put away stuff compared to what he had done the season prior at Single-A when he K'd just 62 batters in 63 innings.
Consistency is still an issue for the 21-year-old, but this year, he's having his best showing since his rookie season in 2022.
After posting a 3.00 ERA across three starts at High-A, he was moved to Double-A Harrisburg where he sits with a 3.82 ERA in seven starts at the time of writing.
Handling that promotion has been positive thus far, and he's still getting batters out at a high clip with 44 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings pitched.
The next step for Susana is figuring out his control.
He's walked a staggering 132 batters in 251 1/3 innings pitched, an amount that makes it hard for anyone to project what he might be going forward as a starter or an eventual reliever.
However, there is a lot to like with Susana, and he's just scratching the surface at 21 years old.
