Outfielder Robert Hassell III will miss the remainder of the Arizona Fall League after suffering a broken hamate bone in his right hand, according to multiple people with knowledge of the injury.
Top Nationals prospect Robert Hassell III sidelined by hand surgery
The 21-year old outfielder played just two games for the Peoria Javelinas, a fall league team that includes minor league players from the Nationals and four other organizations. He went 1 for 6 before exiting a game on Oct. 5 with hand discomfort.
Hassell is the Nationals’ top prospect, according to MLB Pipeline, and trails only shortstop CJ Abrams — who made his Nationals debut on Aug. 15 — on Baseball America’s Top 30 list for the organization.
The Nationals hope that the six players they received in return for Soto and Bell will help accelerate their rebuild. First baseman Luke Voit and pitcher MacKenzie Gore immediately joined the big league club, although Gore was sidelined with an inflamed elbow. Abrams wasn’t too far behind them, debuting after spending a week with Class AAA Rochester and showing flashes.
But the other three prospects — Hassell, outfielder James Wood and pitcher Jarlin Susana — are still a ways away from the majors. Hassell started the year with high Class A Wilmington before finishing up with Class AA Harrisburg, while Wood and Susana ended the year with low Class A Fredericksburg.
Hassell was selected eighth overall by the Padres in the 2020 draft and lived up to his billing in his first two minor league seasons, hitting 22 home runs across several levels. And in 75 games with San Diego’s high Class A affiliate this year, he hit .299 with 10 homers and 55 RBI.
Once he joined the Nationals organization, Hassell didn’t have nearly the same success. He hit .211 in 10 games with the Wilmington Blue Rocks before being called up to Harrisburg. He improved slightly, hitting .222 in 27 games before heading to the fall league to get more reps and attempt to finish on a strong note heading into next season.
Notably, his slugging percentage was down from his time with the Padres — after slugging .467 with the Padres’ high Class A affiliate, that figure dropped to .237 with Wilmington and rose slight to .296 with Harrisburg. He also struck out in 28.7 percent of his at-bats after the trade.
Hassell, 21, is one of a handful of promising young outfielders whom the Nationals organization will be tasked with developing in years to come. There’s Wood and Jeremy De La Rosa, both 20, who took home minor league hitter of the year awards for the Nationals this past year. Elijah Green, 18, was the Nationals’ No. 5 overall pick in July’s draft. And the Nationals spent $4,925,000 of their $5,179,700 signing pool in January to sign Cristhian Vaquero, an 18-year old outfielder from Cuba.
Not every prospect will pan out, but the Nationals hope their pool of talented outfielders will produce a few big league contributors, with Hassell’s name prominent in those wishes.
“The expectations do rise, I get that when you’re talking about giving up a guy like Juan Soto,” Hassell said in August. “But, like I said, just keep playing my game. I trust the development that’s going to be taking place over the next couple years. … Just one step at a time and be where my feet are and just go from there.”
Source: WP
