Why the Washington Nationals should keep faith in Robert Hassell III

August 2, 2022. I will never forget where I was the moment I found out that Juan Soto would no longer be a National. After months of talking myself out of it, thinking about Mike Rizzo and the Lerner family history of not trading stars, my worst fears finally came to a head. I knew I was (probably) never going to be able to watch Juan Soto again repping the red, white, and blue.

What made me slightly feel better is the enormous haul that has been discussed at length over the years. I never wanted to trade a once-in-a-generation type player, but as we see some of the top prospects come to fruition, it is easy to see the vision that was once blurry a couple of summers ago, with James Wood, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Jarlin Susana, and of course, Robert Hassell III in the organization.

James Wood was the prize of the deal, peaking as the number 1 prospect in baseball before his debut. Wood is a freak athlete and has true 5 tool potential. After tearing up the minor leagues in 2024, he showed what he could do heading into the future after a 1.2 fWAR campaign with a .781 OPS in 79 games at the major league level.

CJ Abrams has had an up-and-down start to his career, notoriously being sent down at the end of last season, but is already an All-Star, and if he can figure out his defense and off-the-field issues, will be a mainstay in DC.

MacKenzie Gore has also flashed ace potential, showing his inconsistency but has high strikeout stuff, and has stayed healthy throughout his career thus far. At his peak, Gore could be one of the best pitchers in the league. Even after an up-and-down season last year, he finished 21st in all of baseball among starting pitchers in fWAR.

Jarlin Susana is a fireballing young right-handed starter, who seemed to finally put it together last season. Plagued by his walk issues, Susana was lights out in the second half of the season last year between Low and High A, improving his stock so much that he is now a consensus top-100 prospect at still only 20 years old.

Now let us talk about the man why we are here today: Robert Hassell III. Nicknamed "Bobby Barrels", Hassell was a top-100 prospect when he was traded to Washington, known for his hit ability and speed.

A standout at the University of Tennessee, Hassell was selected 8th overall in the 2020 draft by San Diego and had a tremendous season in his first full year in the minor leagues in 2021. Hassell slashed .302/.393/.470 with 11 home runs and 34 steals between Low and High A. Hassell continued to produce into 2022 with the San Diego farm system, before struggling once getting to Washington.

2023 continued to be a struggle for Hassell, slashing only .221/.324/.321 across Low A and Double AA, plagued by a wrist injury and inconsistency.

Hassell entered 2024 healthy and looking to bounce back, talking in Spring Training about how the transition had been tough due to suffering injuries for the first time in his career with the nagging wrist injury, and looking forward to a healthy 2024. He did not get all he wished for.

After a great Spring Training, Hassell injured his groin at the tail end and later missed two months with, you guessed it, another hamate/wrist injury. Hassell seemingly was starting to put it together in Double AA with an OPS of .728, before struggling in 17 games once promoted to Triple-A.

The numbers are not pretty, but the tools are still there: Hassell can still hit, with hopefully more power once the hamate bone fully heals, and his speed and defense allow his floor to be a 4th outfield type.

Hassell is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League, telling MLB.com that he is "healthy now" and that "stuff's going to click". His exit velocities in the minors last season were up before he injured his hand again, and data from the Arizona Fall League seems to back up Hassell's claims that he feels he is fully healthy and getting his swing and power back.

The 23-year-old is entering his make-it-or-break-it season in 2025, looking to debut at some point this upcoming season. With Dylan Crews, James Wood, and probably Jacob Young as locks to start this season, outside of free-agent acquisitions, Hassell could be one of the next men up if someone goes down.

His Arizona Fall League numbers are encouraging in small sample size, and a fully healthy Robert Hassell III could put himself on the radar again. With many down on the guy, I still believe in the former top prospect.