“Forgotten Prospect” Hassell needs to stay healthy before becoming “a guy” for Nats

PROSPECT REVIEW: ROBERT HASSELL III

Age on opening day 2025: 23

How acquired: Traded with MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, James Wood, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit from Padres for Juan Soto and Josh Bell in August 2022; originally drafted No. 8 overall by Padres in 2020 from Independence High School in Thompson’s Station, Tenn.

Ranking: No. 13 per MLB Pipeline, No. 14 per Baseball America

MLB ETA: 2025
* Projected by MLB Pipeline

Signing bonus: $4.3 million

2024 levels: High-A Wilmington, Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester

2024 stats: 85 G, 362 PA, 320 AB, 44 R, 77 H, 9 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 28 RBIs, 15 SB, 4 CS, 35 BB, 76 SO, .241 AVG, .319 OBP, .328 SLG, .647 OPS

Quotable: “He battled. I mean, he missed a lot of time. He stayed true with his rehab, which was important. We kept him in Harrisburg, so he was with that group. That was important for him, important for that staff, to keep them all together. He's going to play, I can't talk a lot about the (Arizona) Fall League, but I'll say he's going to the Fall League. I can't talk about the other players, but that'll be good for him to keep playing. And he's good with it. He wanted to do that. He needs to get the at-bats, get the time in the field, both in center and right. … (The injury is) frustrating at first, but he shakes it off very quick. He doesn't internalize a lot of things. He's a gamer. He's a professional. He comes out to the field. He plays elite defense, too, every night as well, especially in right. But he's really great in center, too. He doesn't take bad at-bats into the next one. So it's getting that rhythm, the consistency. I think for him, it's the same like Brady (House), playing a full season next year, whatever happens, is really important.” – Eddie Longosz

2024 analysis: Finally well removed from the broken right hamate bone he suffered in the 2022 Arizona Fall League, Hassell entered this season with high expectations. He was included among the group of top prospects invited to major league spring training and spent most of the first month of camp with the big league club. But a groin injury in early March limited his exposure to only 12 Grapefruit League games.

As he already had an injury history, that wasn’t a good sign for Hassell. But the young outfielder was ready in time for Harrisburg’s season opener in April and started the season hot. He reached base in 26 of his first 27 games, including a 24-game on-base streak. He was named Eastern League Player of the Week on May 6 after going 12-for-24 (.500) with two home runs in six games.

For the month of April, he slashed .308/.423/.415 with an .838 OPS, setting himself up for a breakout season in which he could have made his major league debut.

But then the injury bug bit again. Hassell landed on Harrisburg’s injured list in June with another issue with his right hand/wrist area. He didn’t return to game action until a rehab assignment with Wilmington in early August. And he didn’t return to Harrisburg until two weeks later before finally earning a promotion to Rochester in September.

After his hot start, Hassell finished with a .​​271/.357/.371 slash line and .729 OPS in 60 games with the Senators. He struggled a lot in 17 games with the Red Wings, hitting only .125 with a .345 OPS and only two extra-base hits (both doubles).

However, he was strong defensively throughout the year, no matter the level. While mostly playing center field and only playing a little bit of left and right at Harrisburg, Hassell only committed two errors all season, both coming in his limited action in left. He also had eight outfield assists.

Because he only played 85 games, the Nationals sent Hassell back to the AFL for the third straight season. And wouldn’t you know it, he finished the year like he started. He hit .281 with seven doubles, one triple, four homers, 19 RBIs, eight walks, five stolen bases and 17 runs in 22 games while winning the championship with the Salt River Rafters. His 12 extra-base hits ranked third in the league and he was tied for seventh in RBIs while being named a Fall Star.

2025 outlook: The story for Hassell remains simple: When he’s healthy, he produces. But he’s not healthy enough.

Hassell has dealt with an injury every year he’s been in the Nats system since coming over in the blockbuster Soto deal, so it remains hard to predict what he could be as a big leaguer.

His speed plays well in the outfield and on the basepaths. He makes good contact at the plate, though the hamate injury seems to have sapped some of his power potential. And his walk numbers weren’t as good last year, which was especially disappointing after his impressive start to the season when he reached base via balls 16 times over that 27-game stretch.

Although his arm is above average, it still projects best in right field. But his versatility allows him to be solid in all three spots. With Wood, Dylan Crews and Jacob Young solidified in the Nats outfield, it’s hard to see where Hassell fits. He could be a fourth outfielder on the roster while providing depth should any of those three suffer an injury. Or he could be a trade piece for the Nats should they have a need at another position.

The Nationals selected Hassell’s contract last week to place him on the 40-man roster and protect him from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Whatever the future holds for Hassell, he needs to prove he can stay healthy first.

“We're going to make sure that he's perfect when we send him back out there because this guy seems to be the 'Forgotten Prospect' and he's as good as anybody,” general manager Mike Rizzo said after Hassell landed on the injured list this year. “This guy can hit, play defense, run the bases. And he's a hitting machine when he's healthy. He hasn't been healthy fully and tried to play through it. So we're gonna get him healthy, we're gonna get him back on track and he's going to be a guy for us.”