Washington Nationals Top Prospect Receives Brutal Assessment at Arizona Fall League
The Washington Nationals have a ton of incredible young talent that has already started performing at the Major League level.
They have a very strong core including left fielder James Wood, right fielder Dylan Crews, center fielder Jacob Young, shortstop CJ Abrams and second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. On the mound, MacKenzie Gore, Mitchell Parker, DJ Herz and Jake Irving make a strong base for the rotation with Jose A. Ferrer out of the bullpen.
There is even more help on the way, as the farm system is overflowing with high-end talent. It is a good problem for the front office to have, as organizational depth is one of the strengths of the franchise.
One of the young players the Nationals are hoping continues to improve is outfielder Robert Hassell III.
He was one of the main pieces of the trade package from the San Diego Padres in return for Juan Soto. The 2020 first-round pick was their No. 1 ranked prospect at the team of the blockbuster deal.
However, he has not yet lived up to those expectations in Washington.
Other players have surpassed him in the pecking order and been promoted to the Major Leagues. He is currently the team’s No. 13 on the team’s prospect pipeline, heading in the wrong direction.
Part of the reason that he isn’t viewed as highly as he was a few years ago is that his bat hasn’t developed. Keith Law of The Athletic shared a scathing report on him in a recent piece about his lack of impactful hitting.
“Hassell III is repeating the AFL off a disappointing, injury-plagued year that saw him slug just .371 across three levels, mostly in Double A. Hassell was one of the five players the Nationals received in return for Juan Soto in 2022, but he hasn’t hit at all since the trade, and he hasn’t gotten any stronger in that span, so the contact he does make is weak. He does have some feel to hit and is an above-average runner, but when he squares the ball up it just doesn’t go anywhere,” the MLB expert wrote.
That is certainly not the kind of reputation any player wants to develop as they are trying to work their way through the minor leagues. Unfortunately, it is accurate.
As he has moved up levels, his slugging percentage has steadily dropped. Hassell didn’t hit at all in 69 plate appearances in Triple-A with a .125/.188/.156 slash line. In 862 plate appearances in Double-A, he has recorded a slash line of .238/.328/.334.
Could the Arizona Fall League this year finally be where he has figured something out? Across 63 plate appearances, in hitter-friendly conditions, he has a .286/.365/.518 slash line with two home runs, five doubles and one triple.
That kind of production will get Hassell back on the radar as a top prospect in the game. Hopefully, being in Arizona has helped him figure something out, otherwise, he will continue to get surpassed by other prospects in the organization.
