The Luis Perales trade made one thing clear: the Washington Nationals definitely want their pitching prospects to step on the gas. After the deal, the Nats’ best pitchers are almost all flamethrowers. Between Perales, Jarlin Susana, Miguel Sime Jr., Travis Sykora, Alex Clemmey, Eriq Swan and Landon Harmon, there is a lot of heat in the Nats farm system.
Let’s start with the new kid on the block, Perales. The Nats targeted him because they believed in his pure stuff over Jake Bennett’s command-oriented approach. Despite not being the biggest, Perales’ fastball is absolutely electric. Although he had some command issues due to Tommy John Surgery, the stuff was still there during his brief action in 2025.
The fastball average 99 MPH in the Arizona Fall League and also has strong life at the top of the zone. It also has a blade, a slider and a splitter. Perales threw nearly half of the triple-digit fastballs recorded in the Arizona Fall League this year.
Sure, there’s injury risk and lighting risk here, but the arm talent is absolutely electric. In recent years, the Nats have really focused on speed and Perales fits into this trend. This trend started before Paul Toboni arrived, but it looks like it will continue.
The 2025 draft is a great example of the Nats prioritizing speed. In the third and fourth rounds of the draft, the Nats selected two of the toughest-throwing high school pitchers in the class and signed both to overslot deals. Landon Harmon was taken in the third round. He already has an electric fastball sit mid 90s and hitting 99. With a projectable frame there should be even more left in the tank.
Miguel Sime Jr., the Nats’ fourth-round pick, throws even harder. At 6 feet tall and just 18 years old, he’s a huge guy with an even bigger arm. His fastball is in the upper 90s and routinely hits triple figures. Sime was one of the hardest throwers in the entire class. He’s still a bit raw, but the Nats wanted a chance to develop him.
Sime is similar to another huge pitcher the Nats developed in Jarlin Susana. In 2022, teenage Susana was the final piece of the Juan Soto deal, but he has developed well. Susana has become one of the best pitchers in the sport and is ranked in the consensus top 100. Even with injury and command issues, his stuff is simply undeniable.
Susana is the hardest thrower of the bunch, with his starter heater in the triple digits. The 6’6 right-hander also has a nasty slider to match the heater. When he is playing, Susana can be untouchable. He underwent lat surgery to end his season prematurely, but he still shows so much promise.
He has the rare ability to maintain his triple-digit speed deep into games. When you watch him throw, it’s crazy how effortless his speed looks. There are questions here, but it’s undeniable.
These are probably the most notable flamethrowers, but they are not the only ones. Travis Sykora is arguably the Nats’ best pitcher. While he may not throw as hard as Perales or Susana, his heater is still in the 94-97 MPH range. In high school he could sometimes reach triple digits. Sykora will miss most, if not all, of the season due to Tommy John Surgery.
Alex Clemmey is a nasty lefty who is one of the Nats’ better pitching prospects. He came over in the Lane Thomas trade and was one of the Nats best artists in the Minor Leagues in 2025. He flirted with triple digits in high school, but his fastball these days usually lives in the 93-96 MPH range.
However, it plays up because of its misleading delivery. With a lanky 6-foot frame, Clemmey’s arms and legs just fly at the hitter. That hurts his command sometimes, but it does allow for a lot of deception.
This past trade deadline, the Nats picked up another flamethrower in a trade with the Dodgers. That would be Eriq Swan. Like a lot of these guys, Swan has some command issues, but his fastball can hit the triple digits. Swan is a converted position player and has serious athleticism and arm talent.
His fastball/sweeper combination probably works best out of the bullpen. However, this is another electric arm that the Nats have in their system. These days, speed is king and the Nats live by that philosophy.
There are drawbacks to this approach, such as command issues and concerns about injuries. However, Heat plays in the big leagues. If you watched last year’s playoffs, it felt like everyone was throwing in the upper 90s. The Nats are trying to assemble these types of power weapons. Hopefully this approach can pay off with long-term success.
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