Nationals pitching prospect Jarlin Susana underwent lat surgery last week, the team informed reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). It concludes an injury-plagued season for the 21-year-old righty, who was limited to 14 starts and 56 1/3 innings in the minors.
Susana missed two and a half months between May and July nursing a UCL sprain in his elbow. He returned to make eight starts between High-A and Double-A before suffering the lat (shoulder) injury that ended his season. Susana pitched to a 3.51 ERA with a massive 39% strikeout rate. The 6’6″ righty was acquired from San Diego as the furthest off piece of the Juan Soto return at the 2022 deadline. Susana has developed into one of the game’s top pitching prospects, routinely pushing his fastball into triple digits with a wipeout slider.
There’s no question about the quality of the stuff. Susana’s arm health and the development of his command will be the biggest factors in whether he sticks as a starting pitcher long term. He walked 14% of his opponents this season, issuing multiple free passes in 12 of his 14 appearances. Susana never went beyond five innings but recorded double digit strikeouts on three occasions, including consecutive starts against Detroit’s Double-A affiliate on August 19 and 24.
The Nationals don’t need to add Susana to the 40-man roster until the 2026-27 offseason. The injury will certainly impact his offseason and could affect his availability for Spring Training. It’s likely that he’ll begin next year back with Double-A Harrisburg once he’s healthy.