Follow the Prospects: Jarlin Susana, RHP

[welch]

Nussbaum reports on some Nats' minor league pitchers.

Jarlin Susana (RHP)
Current level (age): Rehabbing in Florida (22)
The Athletic’s rank: No. 6 in the Nats’ preseason Top 20.
What he’s doing: Throwing 102 in his first bullpen.
What it means: He’s still got it, but probably won’t show it in Washington this year.

Nationals reliever Max Kranick had never seen anything like it.

He spent his first month with the organization rehabbing with Susana at the team’s complex in Florida. One day, he stopped and stared as Susana took a running start and delivered a max effort throw. The radar read 106 mph. In his first bullpen, Susana hit 102.

“We would never want a guy to get to 102 in their first bullpen, but he was doing it with very little effort,” farm director Devin Pearson told The Athletic. “Setting his velo ranges are different than any other player we’ve kind of worked with. So we’re still trying to figure that out. But it’s more of an effort level thing than velocity at this time. We wanted to be smart about that.”

If Susana, who underwent lat surgery in 2025, does not suffer any setbacks (and he has not had any yet) the team expects he will face hitters by the end of the season. Washington has not yet determined whether that will come in games or a more controlled environment. The chances of an MLB debut this year feel exceptionally slim.

Once he is back to 100 percent, the organization will work with him on his command, and could experiment in turning his word-class slider into two distinct pitches. That, of course, is TBD.

Officials within the organization say they still view him as a starter, and will continue to do so until he proves them otherwise. Few arms, of course, can sustain 102 mph heaters and high-spin sliders on a starter’s workload. But the Nationals are banking that Susana’s sturdy 6-foot-6 frame and athleticism can handle the stress that sitting triple-digits puts on the body.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7410272/2026/07/01/nationals-prospects-report-jarlin-susan-jackson-kent/

[Slateman]

So we went from sometime in summer to hopefully seeing live batters by the end of the year. Not great.

[rileyn]

So we went from sometime in summer to hopefully seeing live batters by the end of the year. Not great.

But not surprising.  No need to push it.

[zimm_da_kid]

It's all good. be cautious. Gives us time to see what we have in Alvarez, Kent, and others

[Slateman]

But not surprising.  No need to push it.

I was kinda hoping he would be available out of the pen in the postseason

[imref]

102

[Slateman]

102

Just a casual 102. Just building up arm strength.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I love the whole "he throws so hard so easy we don't quite know how to have him ease into it"

[imref]

Nusbaum says Susana faced live batters last week and should be heading out to a minor league rehab assignment soon.

[Smithian]

It's a shame he's hurt this year, since I'd 100% be down for calling him up as a reliever for the playoff push.

I don't think he'll hold up as a starter, but I wanted to play that out while the Nationals major league team was a huge loser. The future might be now.

[Slateman]

So where is this guy?

[Lintyfresh85]

Probably still rehabbing his lat somewhere

[imref]

Natsofthefuture - August 3:

Susana has begun throwing to hitters, and I expect him to go on a rehab assignment by the end of the year.

Still a work in progress, Susana has legit ability to start, although he would be a very welcome bullpen add indeed

[Slateman]

So this is a lost year and he still hasn't had TJS

[imref]

So this is a lost year and he still hasn't had TJS

give him time, one injury at a time.

[blue911]

Why can’t the Nats fix any medical issue. Ever.

[imref]

Why can’t the Nats fix any medical issue. Ever.

Uh, Trevor Williams is back

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Uh, Trevor Williams is back

after they broke him twice

[imref]

Heading to Wilmington for a rehab start per Nusbaum

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Heading to Wilmington for a rehab start per Nusbaum

that's a positive twist.

[Slateman]

freaking finally

[Slateman]

Get him and DJ rolling and we can use them out of the pen for our postseason push

[welch]

Nussbaum reports that the organization wants him to take it easy, but he cannot seem to throw less tha 100mph.

[Smithian]

Get him and DJ rolling and we can use them out of the pen for our postseason push

I was happy nursing him as a starter when the major league team was a dumpster fire. That time is done. Get him in the pen in Wilmington/Rochester and if he performs, call him up if we're competitive in September. He is Rule V eligible in a few months anyway.

[Slateman]

I was happy nursing him as a starter when the major league team was a dumpster fire. That time is done. Get him in the pen in Wilmington/Rochester and if he performs, call him up if we're competitive in September. He is Rule V eligible in a few months anyway.

I go back and forth on this. Yes, if somehow, we're magically competitive, calling up Susana out of the pen should absolutely be on the table.

However, I understand the caution in this. If he finally tears that UCL while on the MLB roster, he gets service time, similar to what happened with Cavalli. That basically means we lost him all next year.