Another Washington Nationals Prospect Acquired in Juan Soto Trade Gets Promoted

The Washington Nationals continue to see the prospects they acquired in the Juan Soto trade continue to progress in their career development.

Feb 20, 2023; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Robert Hassell III (55) practices his swing during a spring training workout at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Coming down the final stretch of the season, the Washington Nationals are just hoping to play good baseball and see their youngsters continue to improve at this level.

Following their World Series title in 2019, the franchise has vaulted themself into a rebuild with the aim of building a core that rivaled the one they had when they won their first ever championship.

What jumpstarted that effort was trading away their megastar Juan Soto after they couldn't come to an agreement on a long-term extension that would have kept him with the Nationals for a decade-plus.

So, at the trade deadline in 2022, Washington dealt him and Josh Bell to the aggressive San Diego Padres in exchange for a package of five prospects and slugger Luke Voit.

Fast forward to now, the Nationals should be more than happy with what they got back in return.

James Wood looks like one of the best young talents in the game after being called up earlier this season. CJ Abrams and Mackenzie Gore have been competing at the Major League level with Washington since 2022 and 2023 respectively. A little further behind in their development, Robert Hassell and Jarlin Susana have maintained their status as top prospects in this pipeline.

On Sept. 2, Hassell was promoted to Triple-A for the first time, bringing another one of these players acquired in the Soto deal that much closer to reaching the bigs.

The 6-foot-1 center fielder has been productive during his four years in the minors.

With a .265/.355/.393 slash line, 36 total home runs, 126 extra-base hits and 212 RBI across his 412 games, the former No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft looks like he could become another intriguing option in the Nationals' outfield going forward.

He'll have to cut down on his strikeouts, as he has 433 across his 1,620 at-bats, but the 13th-ranked prospect is just 23 years old and has plenty of room to grow.

Hassell will have the opportunity to showcase what he can do at the Triple-A level with the aim of earning a Spring Training invite that would give himself the chance to force Washington into including him on the Opening Day roster if he performs well.

If that's the case, four out of the five prospects they landed in the Soto deal will be playing in the MLB.