Can Arizona Fall League Performance Jump-Start Career of Nationals Top Prospect?
When the Washington Nationals traded away Juan Soto at the deadline in 2022, that really was the admission this franchise was about to undergo a true rebuild after they failed to make the playoffs each year following their World Series title in 2019.
Shipping a young star out of an organization is never an easy decision, especially when that player looks like he could emerge as one of the best players in the sport.
But even though that happened for Soto in his career, the Nationals also got a great return that is full of players who have seemingly emerged into cornerstones for this team going forward.
Mackenzie Gore has become the ace of this rotation, CJ Abrams made his first All-Star team this past campaign and looks like the shortstop of the future, James Wood played like a premier left fielder in his rookie season, and Jarlin Susana is an intriguing prospect who continues to impress evaluators.
Right now, the only piece of this package who has underwhelmed, outside of established veteran Luke Voit, is Robert Hassell III.
The eighth overall pick in the 2020 draft looked like he was a rising star after he slashed 302/.393/.470 with 11 home runs, 76 RBI, and 34 stolen bases during his first professional season. He followed that up with a selection to the All-Star Futures Game in 2022.
Unfortunately, things have stalled out for Hassell with Washington.
Injuries have marred his tenure, but his offensive drop off has been eye-opening and is the main reason why he hasn't climbed up their pipeline quickly.
General manager Mike Rizzo described the 23-year-old as the "forgotten prospect," and with him going back to the Arizona Fall League for the third time, the hope was he would be able to find some things that could allow him to get his career jump-started.
So far, that seems to be the case.
Through 16 games and 65 at-bats, he has recorded 18 hits with nine of them being for extra-bases, with three of those being home runs. That puts his OPS at .870, which is a stark contrast to what he has done with the Nationals organization.
There are still concerns regarding what Hassell's ultimate ceiling is, but if this is the version he can turn into going forward, that will certainly earn himself a look at the Major League level.
The trick will be to carry over what he's doing in the AFL into next season.
So far, Hassell has not shown an ability to hit pitchers at the upper levels of the minors, but with the swing adjustments he made prior to the Arizona Fall League, that could allow him to find his past form when he was considered a future star of the sport.
