Mother Nature wasn’t the only thing bringing the heat in Wilmington on Tuesday, July 9. With the temperature reaching up to 95 degrees and a feels like of 108 at first pitch, Blue Rocks (37-44) starter Jarlin Susana showcased his flamethrowing abilities in a 5-3 victory over the Brooklyn Cyclones (38-44).
Tuesday marked the High-A debut of Susana, who struck out 83 batters in 56.1 innings with the Fredericksburg Nationals this season. His repertoire consists of an overpowering fastball that sits around 100 and can get up to 103, a slider that ranges from 89-92 mph, and a changeup that hovers between 87-89 mph.
The heater was on display early and often. On the second pitch of the game, Susana delivered a 101 mph fastball to Nick Morabito. One batter later, he struck out Christopher Suero with a 103 mph heater at the top of the zone.
“I looked [at the scoreboard] and it said 103,” first baseman Joe Naranjo said. “I looked at the first base coach and we both made a face. It’s pretty remarkable. He’s going to be special.”
“It’s definitely fun when you see a lot of 100s on the board,” catcher Maxwell Romero Jr. said. “I’m just happy with how he carried himself and continued to be himself on the mound, and being able to throw all three pitches for strikes, that’s incredible.”
That wouldn’t be the only time Susana cracked 103, as the 6-6 right-hander reached the mark four other times. Out of the 79 pitches he threw, 25 of them reached triple digits, including a 100 mph heater in the fifth to get Suero again for his fourth strikeout of the day.
“I want to thank God for the ability that he gave me and always taking care of me and keeping me on the field,” Susana said. “It’s just hard work and taking care of my body as much as I can and just using what God has given me.”
So far this season Susana only topped 80 pitches three times, with his season-high sitting at 88, so five innings was the limit for the 20-year-old, who gave up two runs, four hits, two walks, and totaled five strikeouts. Despite it being his debut at the High-A level, he didn’t notice much of a difference between the two levels.
“Everything feels pretty much the same for me,” Susana said. “At the end of the day, I’m not really looking at the other side. I’m just worried about my routine and what I’m doing well.”
Another guy making his High-A debut was Cyclones’ starter Jack Wenninger. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have the same type of debut that Susana had, as the Blue Rocks jumped on him early after a two-out, two-run RBI single from Naranjo in the first.
After batting just .181 in his first series with Wilmington, Naranjo has started to feel more comfortable at the plate. In the nine games he played against Hudson Valley and Jersey Shore, he’s batting .296 with five extra-base hits and pushed his hitting streak to five straight with the two-run single.
“I feel like my approach is dialing in a lot more,” Naranjo said. “The preparation before the game is obviously a big key and continuing the grind every day and get ready for 6:35.”
T.J. White also extended his hitting streak to 10 games after a leadoff single in the fourth. Over this stretch, White is batting .395 with just eight strikeouts in 38 at-bats.
“He’s made a good adjustment at the plate,” manager Mario Lisson said. “He made some changes mechanically this past week, so that’s paying off. If he stays in the strike zone, he can be very good.”
The Blue Rocks got another pair of runs in the fifth, with both coming with two outs once again. Naranjo racked up his second RBI of the game and 11th as a Blue Rock with a single into left and later came around to score after Gavin Dugas got hit by a pitch to end Wenninger’s line, who allowed five runs on eight hits, one walk and struck out three over 4.2 innings.
“It’s huge when you get the starting pitcher’s pitch count up early and get to their bullpen, that’s what our hitting coach preaches,” Naranjo said.
Dugas found himself in the lineup after Kevin Made was promoted to Double-A on Sunday. Made hit .239 with a .353 on-base percentage in 72 games for Wilmington this season.
“He played very well for us,” Lisson said. “I just told him to go to Double-A and do his thing… just stay locked in mentally and he’ll be successful. He’s a good player.”
Now with Made out of the lineup, Lisson will turn to a flurry of different infielders to fill the void.
“We try and give some kind of rotation to some of them, that’s kind of where they’re at,” Lisson said. “They have to come in every day ready to get their work in and if they’re in the lineup help contribute to the team.”
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