Jarlin Susana and his elite heater arrived at Triple-A on Friday. They made their presence known immediately.
Susana's first pitch for the Rochester Red Wings -- a four-seam fastball -- was clocked at 102.6 mph. That's tied for the the third-fastest offering in the International League this year. The right-hander ended that first at-bat against rehabbing Blue Jays slugger Anthony Santander by inducing a groundout.
The Nationals' No. 3 prospect and the No. 66 prospect overall in MLB reached 102 mph twice more in his 2 2/3 innings of work. He ultimately struck out three batters and allowed four runs in the Red Wings' 7-1 loss to Buffalo at Sahlen Field. Susana averaged 101.0 mph on the 19 four-seamers and sinkers he threw that were tracked by Statcast.
But Susana possesses more than just a couple of overpowering fastballs. He also has a 70-grade slider, and he used that pitch to get two strikeouts in the second inning, including one of Santander looking.
However, faulty control continued to plague the 22-year-old as he issued four walks. He threw a wild pitch during Buffalo's four-run third inning, too. For the season across three levels of the Minors, Susana has walked 11 batters in 20 1/3 innings. He didn't make his first 2026 appearance until Aug. 11 following an 11-month recovery from right lat surgery.
COMPLETE NATIONALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Susana has racked up 37 strikeouts this season and has 417 K's through 288 1/3 career Minor League innings. One of the pieces in the 2022 Juan Soto trade that has paid tremendous dividends for the Nats, Susana will soon get a chance to work on his control in the Arizona Fall League.