Luis Suisbel reflects on AquaSox record
Published 9:56 am Friday, September 4, 2026
EVERETT — To Luis Suisbel, everything about his home run against the Tri-City Dust Devils on Aug. 21 felt routine.
Granted, it was significant in the scope of the game. After a big swing at an 0-1 pitch from Tri-City’s Luke Schafer, Suisbel paused to admire the ball as it soared off his bat and over the wall in right-center field to tie the score 4-4 for the Everett AquaSox in the top of the eighth inning at Gesa Stadium.
Yet as he rounded the bases, the 23-year-old infielder still had no clue just how big that homer was. He wouldn’t find out until he picked up his phone as he was leaving the stadium. That long ball marked Suisbel’s 39th in an AquaSox uniform, which broke the franchise record for career home runs.
“I didn’t know. I just saw the social media post (from the team account) when I left the game,” Suisbel said. “I was feeling very, very incredible about it. …
“I followed my path, and I felt all the work I did in offseason, making good results, it’s really (comforting) to watch during the season.”
The Valencia, Venezuela native has spent each of the past two seasons in Everett, becoming one of the more familiar figures on the team in recent years. Even before setting the home run mark, Suisbel forged himself as a key member in AquaSox history by helping the franchise to its first Northwest League Championship last year.
After leading the league in home runs (23) during the regular season, Suisbel fittingly hit the go-ahead blast in Everett’s series-clinching 6-3 victory in Game 4 against the Eugene Emeralds. He returned to the AquaSox jockeying for playing time with a crowded infield, which led to a decrease in raw totals given the fewer number of games and at-bats, but he went from slashing .211/.308/.412 in 2025 to .254/.332/.478 this season, as of Thursday.
Suisbel is also striking out at a slightly lower rate in 2026 (.261) than he did last year (.275), and he has more extra-base hits (45) and total bases (177) than he accrued last season despite having fewer plate appearances. Even in recent months, he’s taken his game to another level. After batting .159 with a .521 OPS in April with only marginally better figures in May and June, Suisbel has hit .300 or better with an OPS over 1.000 in each month since July (.300, 1.043).
Entering Friday’s game against Spokane, Suisbel is riding an 11-game hitting streak, which played a role in boosting his numbers in August (.309, 1.008) and the first three games of September, where he’s gone 6-for-14 (.429) with a 1.143 OPS, 10 total bases, two RBI and one run scored.
“I just try to get 1% better every day,” Suisbel said. “And right now, I’m feeling comfortable. The results, they’re (looking) good, and I feel blessed for that.”
Suisbel added that he’s enjoying the game more, a mental shift that he feels allowed him to fill holes in his performance at the plate. Now he has a franchise record to boot.
Few were more excited for Suisbel than AquaSox teammate Carlos Jimenez, who has played with him for the better part of the past seven seasons. They were in the same international signing class in 2019, joining the Seattle Mariners organization on the same day, and aside from 2025, they’ve played on the same team for at least some part of each year since.
“It doesn’t matter the results, he just come out and compete. It’s something that I admire from him,” Jimenez said, with translation from outfield coach Edgardo Rivera. “Also, his IQ, the way he come out and prepare every single day.”
Everett manager Ryan Scott touted his presence in the clubhouse as one of the “veteran” players on the team, and noted his proficiency in English allows him to make an impact off the field for his teammates as well.
“Especially our Latin guys, they all are kind of drawn to him and see him as kind of the leader of their little group,” Scott said. “One, he speaks really good English, so he can help translate and he can help be kind of the liaison for a lot of the younger Latin guys that are just kind of getting up to this spot. … He brings a really good impact on the field, especially just with his energy, and we know what we’re going to get out of him every single day.”
Suisbel has hit two more home runs to extend the record to 41 as of Thursday, and teammate Brandon Eike (35) is not far behind. The 24-year-old infielder has also spent the past two full seasons with the AquaSox, and he holds the Northwest League lead this season with 24. However, with three games left, it would take a Herculean run for Eike to pass Suisbel for the mantle.
At the end of the day, Suisbel cared most about winning his fourth championship in a row after going back-to-back with then-Single-A Modesto in 2023 and 2024 before bringing Everett to the top a year ago. It ultimately didn’t come to pass, as the Vancouver Canadians clinched the second-half title earlier this week and will face the Emeralds for the championship next week.
Suisbel held out hope until the end, but if this week marks his final one in an AquaSox uniform, he gets to walk away with a pretty neat distinction.
“We have a great team,” Suisbel said. “We have great people here.”
