An inside look at Nationals prospect Jarlin Susana’s Arizona Fall League campaign

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TUCSON, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 10: Jarlin Susana #91 of the Washington Nationals pitches during a game between the Salt River Rafters and the Scottsdale Scorpions at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday, October 10, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images) | Getty Images

There is not a whole lot of baseball going on right now, but there still is one league that is playing. The Arizona Fall League is a great opportunity for prospects to either prove themselves or make up for lost time. Nats prospect Jarlin Susana falls into both of those categories. He is coming off an injury that cost him several months, and he wants to compete.

Through the SB Nation network, I was able to get Susana’s perspective on things. Samantha Bradford, of the Rockies site Purple Row was out in Arizona, and I was able to ask Susana questions through her. Luis Sanchez of World Baseball Network did a great job as Susana’s interpreter as well. Here is a full transcript of the interview. 

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A big part of Susana’s game is his massive velocity, and that is something he is clearly aware of. One of the things he said he was most proud of this season was breaking the AFL velocity record. Susana has actually thrown the 9 hardest pitches in AFL history. He told us that the record was not something he was actively trying to set, but he was happy he accomplished it.

While Susana averages over 100 MPH, he said that his curveball is his best pitch. On TJstat’s pitch tracking site, it has Susana throwing a slider, a sweeper and a curve. However, the shapes of all three pitches look very similar, so I think those are all one pitch. Since Susana calls it a curveball, that is what we will call it. 

That classification is actually interesting to me. On most sites, that pitch is called a slider. However, Susana calls it a curve and the shape has more drop than your average slider but less than most curveballs. It is a bit of a slurve to me. Whatever you want to call it, the pitch is nasty and generates whiffs over half the time.

Interestingly, Susana said the reason that his curve is so good is because of how well it pairs with his fastball. He told us that “pitching alongside my fastball makes my curveball elite”. Having pitches that tunnel off each other and look similar out of the hand is a great trait to have.

One other thing that Susana was proud of during his AFL campaign was winning Arizona Fall League pitcher of the week. He told us that was one of his goals, and he accomplished it. The AFL is usually a hitter friendly environment, so Susana having success there is impressive.

Beyond the AFL, Susana learned a lot of lessons this season. He was out until July with what he called a triceps injury. Having to work through that injury and come back taught Susana a lot. He also told us that he has consistent communication with the Nats new front office.

For next season, Susana made it clear that he wants to reach the big leagues. He said, “I just want to keep working every day and just make it to the big leagues. That’s my goal, and I’m going to work every day to accomplish that”. Since coming over in the Juan Soto trade in 2022, Susana has been a big name, but now he is finally knocking on the door.

Assuming we have a season, I would expect we see Susana in the big leagues pretty quickly. The only question will be his role. A lot of his profile looks like a relief pitcher. He has the nasty stuff and an intimidating mound presence. However, he has had issues throwing strikes at times. Despite a simple delivery, the command remains a question.

He was erratic at times in the AFL, but that did not stop him from being named an Arizona Fall League All-Star. That news came out after our conversation with him, but I assume that is something he is very happy about and was a goal of his. 

I just want to thank Jarlin, Samatha Bradford and Luis Sanchez for helping me put this together. Even though I was not there, it is easy to see that Susana has his eyes on the prize and is desperate to reach the big leagues. A strong Arizona Fall League performance and continued health is a step in the right direction for him.

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