Washington Nationals Hurler's Fastball Rated Among Best In Minor Leagues
The Washington Nationals have one of the most exciting young pitchers in the minors leagues and he is starting to get compared to elite prospects.
Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline has been releasing polls done with execs around MLB and a promising Nationals prospect is being highly rated.
When asked which prospect has the best fastball in the minors, Washington prospect Jarlin Susana finished tied for sixth with 4.5% of the vote.
Susana showing up that high on the list speaks highly of him based on the other pitchers mentioned. All other current MLB prospects ahead of him are within the Top 80 of the overall pipeline rankings.
Just looking at the two pitchers that he is tied with says great things about him: Pittsburgh Pirates ace Bubba Chandler and Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki.
Chandler has been red hot since moving to the Triple-A level with a 1.83 ERA in 39.1 innings of work. He is one of the favorites to compete for a Rookie of the Year nod next season and has the tools to be an incredible pitcher.
Sasaki is the top player remaining in the free agent market and is being tabbed as the best young pitcher in baseball. He has a 2.02 career ERA in 414.2 innings of work in Japan.
Both pitchers are a few years ahead of Susana in their development, but would be dream outcomes for Washington.
"This isn’t only about who lights up the radar gun the most. These days, metrics come into play, with life, command and the ability to miss bats with it all figuring into the equation," said Mayo.
The 20-year-old can hit triple digits with ease and sits around 97-99 MPH. He can even get up to 103, making it easy to see why it is impressive. While it doesn't have a ton of movement, it gets where it is going fast and with solid control.
Susana has peaked at the High-A level last year where he continued to plow through batters. He has a bit of a high walk rate, but it is getting better with time.
The Dominican Republic native had a 4.34 ERA last year with a 13.6 K/9 and 1.312 WHIP.
He has a few more years of development before he reaches the Majors. If his slider and curveball continue to progress, he could be near the top of the pipeline by then.
Susana currently ranks as the No. 4 prospect in the Nationals farm and No. 90 overall in baseball.
