When the Washington Nationals initially made the Juan Soto trade, shipping out a homegrown superstar who helped win the franchise’s lone World Series, it was hard to find anything to be excited about. Now, a little over a month after the deadline deal, more prospects are beginning to make a name for themselves. The latest is Jarlin Susana, an 18-year-old pitcher who stands 6-foot-6.
Susana came to the organization in the Soto trade at the trade deadline on Aug. 2, as a part of a prospect haul that included four others. He quickly was ranked as the eighth-best prospect in the organization, according to MLB.com. He originally broke into baseball as the top-ranked pitcher in the 2021-22 international signing class, when he latched on with the San Diego Padres on a $1.7 million contract.
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Jarlin Susana flashes future ace potential
Despite making just five starts with his new organization, Susana is making a strong first impression. Flashing a fastball that dials all the way up to 103 mph, being that Susana is still so young and possesses a large frame, it’s possible he even continues to add more velocity as he develops. As you can imagine, with a heater like that, Susana’s fastball is his best pitch, though a slider that reaches the upper 80s has some more strikeout potential.
Yet, as an 18-year-old playing down in A-ball, Susana is far from a sure thing. Still, striking out 11.32 batters per nine innings as he has gives Nats fans hope for the future, even if he’s still a few years away from reaching the majors.
MLB.com projects the hard-throwing right-handed pitcher to get his call-up sometime in 2025, though if he continues lighting up the radar guns and keeping crooked numbers off the scoreboard, don’t be surprised if Susana makes his debut in 2024 instead.
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