Prospect Profile: Nationals 57th Overall Pick Andrew Suarez
The Nationals after their first round pick of UNLV right hander Erick Fedde went on to select another college pitcher with the 57th overall pick however this time it was left hander from the University of Miami (Fla) and his name is Andrew Suarez.
Suarez is a 21 year old junior from the University of Miami and comes into the draft at 6’1” 205 pounds. He’s impressed scouts by steading his fastball velocity at 91-94 mph even into seven-plus innings, as well as having solid movement down to the left which many scouts love. His slider comes in at 82-84 mph while his curveball can range from 79-92mph depending on how hard he throws it and both are considered to be above average pitches. Scouts rave about his ability to hide the ball behind his body in his delivery without being off balanced. He has the ability to throw all of his pitches for strikes which helped him be a work horse in college.
Despite his lack of height Suarez was the workhorse for the Hurricanes his junior season as he pitched 109.2 innings and posted a solid 2.95 ERA. Even though he is not a strikeout pitcher, just 87 Ks in 109.2 innings, he has proven to have stellar command that has led to only 15 walks on the season.
Suarez was a well-regarded prospect coming out of high school in 2011 and was selected in the ninth round by the Toronto Blue Jays. He opted to go to Miami instead of signing with the Blue Jays.
Just like the Nationals first round pick Suarez has had injury problems to deal as he had Labrum surgery on his shoulder which forced him to miss his freshman season at Miami. He has managed to stay healthy since the surgery and could find his way to the major leagues pretty fast, even before the man the Nationals drafted ahead of him.
While Andrew Suarez may reach the Major Leagues sooner rather than later his ceiling is not as high as other Nationals pitching prospects however he still is projected to become a possible fourth or fifth starter in what seems to be a very good Nationals rotation in the future.
