Better Late than Never: OF Robert Hassell III promoted to AAA Rochester

First of all, apologies for the hiatus from District on Deck that we have experienced over the last week or so. We have been in the process of switching some things up and shuffling people in and out of new roles and responsibilities, so we are looking forward to getting back on a consistent posting schedule.

One of the bigger pieces of news that came out over the holiday weekend was the fact that OF Robert Hassell III (aka RH3 or Bobby Barrels), one of the pieces acquired in the Juan Soto trade from San Diego, was just moved up to AAA Rochester from AA Harrisburg. RH3 is just 23-years-old and was the 8th overall pick back in the 2020 draft, and he has the ability to become a true 5-tool player at his full potential.

This move comes as a bit of a surprise to me, yet one I am very excited for. At the time of the trade, it was believed by many that Hassell, who was a Top 100 prospect in baseball, was likely the highest floor player coming back to Washington, and was expected to make the MLB relatively quickly, as he was dominating the lower levels.

However, his time in the Washington organization has been a bit underwhelming, although not entirely his fault. Back in 2022 when he was traded, he was batting .299/.379/.467 with a .846 OPS to go along with 10 homers, 55 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. He was lighting up Low-A ball and was hoping to carry the momentum into being successful with the Nats. However, a combination of injuries and getting used to a new organization led to a frustrating end to the 2022 season for Hassell, who ended the year in AA Harrisburg before spending a disappointing 2023 season battling more injuries as well. In 2023 he had just a .640 OPS and 8 homers across 106 games in AA, a major step back from his days in San Diego.

That leads us to 2024, where it appears as if Hassell has taken a step forward into regaining his previous prospect status. He has seemingly finally put his wrist and hamate bone injuries behind him and rebounded with a .271/.357/.371 line with a .728 OPS with 5 homers, 21 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 60 games. Definitely a step in the right direction after his injury struggles and adjustments to some more difficult ballparks on the east coast. I was very excited about Hassell as a prospect when he was announced as being a part of the deal, and I am looking forward to seeing if he can finally put all of the issues behind him to finish up this season and into 2025.

As long as he can avoid issues with his hamate bones in the future, an injury that is becomingknown for sapping power from hitters, I am excited to see if Hassell can go on a run similar to what Dylan Crews' experienced after he got away from the hitter's nightmare that Harrisburg is, and potentially force Rizzo's hand going into next season...unless a certain free agent and former Nat legend decides to come back to Washington...? Hassell debuted on Monday night for Rochester, batting 7th in the lineup, playing center field, and went 0/4 with a K.

With 2/3 of the Nats' outfield of the future already in the show in Dylan Crews and James Wood, the door is open for Hassell to make a run to be apart of the outfield mix in 2025. Mike Rizzo appears to be positioning Hassell and Brady House to have a chance to make the team out of Spring Training, or at least earn an early promotion to the big leagues if they don't make the club initially. Rochester's games will be worth monitoring the rest of the season, as many players who could impact the 2025 club such as Hassell, House, Andrew Pinckney, Trey Lipscomb, and many more will be striving to push the Nats' AAA affiliate towards the postseason.

What do you think of Robert Hassell III's promotion to AAA? Do you think it is justified, or is it too soon? As always, please let me know your thoughts on X @DCBerk.

All stats in this article were provided by MiLB.com.