With the minor league season over, the Nationals player development staff has turned its attention to the various offseason leagues and which young prospects will participate in the coming months.

The official rosters for the Arizona Fall League were announced yesterday, with seven Nationals prospects set to play for the Salt River Rafters: outfielder Robert Hassell III, third baseman Cayden Wallace, catcher Maxwell Romero Jr., right-handers Michael Cuevas and Chase Solesky, and left-handers Matt Cronin and Dustin Saenz.

Hassell is the highest-rated player of the group, ranked as the Nats’ No. 9 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 14 by Baseball America. The 23-year-old returns to the AFL for the third straight season after only playing in two games before breaking the hamate bone in his right hand in 2022 (the same year he was acquired by the Nats in the blockbuster Juan Soto and Josh Bell trade with the Padres) and impressing in 20 games last year.

Finally healthy as a non-roster invitee to spring training, Hassell entered this season with high hopes. He started the year strong at Double-A Harrisburg, but another hand/wrist injury limited him to 85 games between the Senators, High-A Wilmington and Triple-A Rochester.

Across the three levels, he slashed .241/.319./.328 with a .647 OPS, five home runs and 28 RBIs in just 362 plate appearances. So the Nats want him to get more at-bats this fall before spring training next year.

After going – and this is accurate – a full 27 months between his last college game at the University of Arkansas in March 2020 and his first pro game earlier this season for low Single-A Delmarva, outfielder Heston Kjerstad continues to make up for lost time.

And he lost a lot of time.

The bout with myocarditis that is now in his rear-view mirror and the hamstring injured that sidelined him early this year. His long-awaited pro debut came on June 10 this summer for Delmarva. On July 13 he moved to high Single-A Aberdeen and ended the minor league year in the playoffs with the IronBirds. And now he’s doing well in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions.

In a late-season interview at Aberdeen's Ripken Stadium, Kjerstad said just being back on the field, playing in games and being healthy again, made this a special year for him.

“It’s been a great season,” he said before an IronBirds playoff game. “After going through my struggles, it’s even more fun (just playing) than I remember it being. And just being able to be out here everyday with the guys, working and getting better. Now let’s go home with some wins.”