GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Jarlin Susana has grabbed plenty of attention with his triple-digit fastball velocity in the Arizona Fall League this year. On Tuesday, the Nationals right-hander’s line turned plenty of heads too.
MLB Pipeline's No. 66 overall prospect lasted five innings in a start for the first time since Aug. 24, 2025 in Salt River's 1-0 loss to Glendale at Camelback Ranch. Susana allowed the one earned run, giving up one hit and two walks while striking out five. He threw 63 pitches, 38 for strikes and 10 of which were swings-and-misses.
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Susana underwent lat surgery late in 2025 that pushed back his ‘26 season debut until Aug. 11. The 22-year-old fireballer is in the Fall League to make up for some of that lost time as a priority pitcher with the Rafters, but behind that work he wants to prove he can remain a starter for an up-and-coming Washington organization who possesses an expansive arsenal beyond just the heat.
On Tuesday, he showed little signs of wear as he worked deeper into the middle innings. His four-seamer and sinker both sat in the triple digits throughout the afternoon, and after touching as high as 102.9 mph in the second inning, he was still at 102.0 on his final pitch of the outing -- a called third strike on a sinker that froze lefty hitter Anson Aroz (Dodgers) for a called third strike on the low-inside corner.
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“When you're not losing velo and changing shapes, it helps,” said Salt River pitching coach Jerry Sullivan, who works in the Rockies system. “He goes to a four-seamer, and some of them have 15 [inches] of ride, and then he drops to 2-and-18 [of vertical and horizontal movement] on a sinker, and it's running at you. But you're committed as if it's a four-seamer. And it's 102. I mean, good luck.”
But the 6-foot-6 right-hander has more than a lightning arm. He also works with an 85-88 mph power curveball -- often tagged as a slider because of its velo and sweep -- that keeps anyone sitting on the serious heat even more uncomfortable. The drop on the deuce often checked out at 40-44 inches on Tuesday, and its spin rate touched above 2,900 rpm. That movement profile led to five whiffs against six swings against the curveball, the type of results associated with a true plus-plus pitch.
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“His kind of plays like a larger death ball,” Sullivan said. “That's why you're getting the early swings on it because it's in zone longer. The velocity is extremely high on it, sometimes around 87 or 88 mph. You have to pull the trigger quick.”
The combination of fastballs and curve already gives Susana three Major League-quality offerings, but under the Nationals’ direction, his work on other shapes has carried into game action in Arizona.
He’s tried a tighter cutter, including one at 97.6 mph on Tuesday, that Sullivan believes could have Mariano Rivera levels of upside. (“When you have an arm that goes up to 104, a 97 mph cutter is not out of the realm of possibility.”) He’s also tried incorporating a sweeper, something with less vertical drop than the curveball but that maintains its break to the glove side. That is still a work in progress -- one attempt at a 91.6 mph sweeper on Tuesday had more of the shape of a gyro slider, Sullivan noted.
It’s all part of the process of finding what works for Susana, who was still only the age of many college seniors in the spring.
“I think as feel happens, sometimes you fall into a nice pitch,” Sullivan said. “You have effort trying to throw one pitch, and another shows up.”
None of this matters if the electric arm isn't able to improve his command overall, and that’s where much of the focus has been between AFL starts. Sullivan noted that Susana is working on staying in control throughout his delivery, leaning into his big-body athleticism and throwing the ball with intent to a specific spot in his bullpen and side work. There’s still room to grow there; in addition to the walks, Susana uncorked three wild pitches Tuesday.
At least with his velo, Susana has a more enticing foundation that rivals any pitching prospect in the game, and the building blocks of a more expansive arsenal should only improve his standing during his push toward D.C.
“With a guy like that, the sky's the limit,” Sullivan said.