Last night one of the Nationals top ranked prospects finally made his season debut after recovering from injury. After undergoing lat surgery late last season, Jarlin Susana has been out of commission recovering. However, he made his debut and looked as electric as ever. The big righty tossed two scoreless innings, allowing no hits, walking two and striking out two. Here is a look at those two punch outs.
jarlin susana returns to the mound with two strikeouts in two-hitless innings 👏 pic.twitter.com/WfYAzmSyx6
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) August 11, 2026When it comes to raw stuff, there might not be a better pitching prospect in all of minor league baseball than Susana. He has a triple digit heater as well as a slider that might be even better. Susana has the ability to manipulate the slider into a couple different shapes. Some are hard downers, while others look more like curveballs.
All of the shapes are absolutely filthy and gets loads of whiffs. Last night’s outing was short, but it was very encouraging. Lat surgeries can be tricky, and it can sometimes take a while for guys to regain their stuff. That does not appear to be an issue for Susana.
According to folks at the game, Susana was sitting 101-103 MPH with his heater. He utilized both a 4-seamer and a sinker. Apparently, he also showcased a new sweeper that was around 89 MPH with serious horizontal break. This is just nuclear grade stuff from the righty. Susana’s arm is just ridiculously special and seems to be too big to fail.
Susana’s arm is too big to fail
Many valuable career outcomes are possible https://t.co/QLhUGOj4r7
Even with shaky command, Susana’s stuff is so good that he is very likely to be an impactful big leaguer if healthy. However, a couple questions still remain. The first one is about his previously mentioned health. He has a pretty lengthy injury history at this point, with a couple elbow scares and that lat surgery. Susana has only thrown more than 100 innings once in his career.
The other concern is his strike-throwing. With this being his first outing in nearly a year, some command rust was expected. However, he only threw 14 of his 28 pitches for strikes. That will need to improve as he keeps building up. Susana will never have pinpoint command, but all he needs to do is to be generally around the strike zone.
These two questions give him some relief risk. With his stuff though, Susana would likely be one of the best closers in the game. His stuff, shaky injury record and lackluster command is similar to Mason Miller when he was coming through the Minor Leagues. If Susana does have to be a reliever, he could be that level of closer.
However, the Nats are going to let him start for now. It is the right move in my opinion. There was a time not too long ago where Jacob Misiorowski was a hard throwing arm with a lot of relief risk. In fact, entering the 2025 season, most people projected him as a bullpen arm. With some strike throwing improvements, the Miz has become the most dominant starter in the league.
Susana getting to that level is a long shot, but it is not impossible either. There are only a handful of pitching prospects in the game you can say that about. His peaks are the most impressive highs we have seen from a Nats pitching prospect since Stephen Strasburg. The 22 year old remains a bit of a wild horse who still needs to be tamed though.
One outing that will always stick with me is what he did against the Tigers Double-A team last year. That team included the likes of Max Clark, Kevin McGonigle and Josue Briceno, all top 50 prospects at the time. Susana carved through that lineup like butter, striking out 13 in 5 innings of work. He touched 104 MPH and snapped off some of the nastiest sliders you will ever see.
Good morning, Nats Central
Last night, Jarlin Susana touched 104 mph
Had 20 whiffs
13 strikeouts in 5 innings
He’s the Nationals #1 prospect
pic.twitter.com/iJiodFZYHd
It is easy to forget sometimes, but Susana also came in that Juan Soto deal. As if that deal was not already good enough, the Nats have another piece with insane upside from that deal. At the time, he was a raw 18 year old who recently signed out of the Dominican Republic. It has been a very slow burn, but Susana is back now, and is ready to take the MLB by storm when the time comes.
The command is shaky, but with his stuff, I have little doubt that Susana will be a productive big leaguer when he is on the mound. That last part is still a question mark, and seeing Susana stay healthy is massively important. The best way to improve command is getting a lot of reps, which Susana is going to need.
It will be interesting to see what the Nats do with him as the season comes to a close. Last night he rebabbed in Wilmington, but I am not sure what is next. A big league debut is highly unlikely, but there is a solid chance he gets up to Triple-A by the end of the season.
After the season, I think Susana is going to get some innings under his belt in the Arizona Fall League. Getting built up coming off the injury is a key step for him. He will have to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason, so a big league debut is on the horizon.
Assuming there is a season, I think 2027 will be the year where Susana announces himself to the world. His stuff and pure size makes him impossible to keep your eyes off of. Jarlin Susana is the most electric pitching prospect in the world, and it is great to see him back on the mound.
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