Future Washington Nationals Star Shining Entering Arizona Fall League Final

At some point, Robert Hassell III will get his chance with the Washington Nationals. After a third stint in the Arizona Fall League, that chance may be coming.

Hassell is part of the Salt River Rafters, which will play the Surprise Saguaros in the AFL title game on Saturday evening.

Entering the annual showcase for top prospects, Hassell was the Nats’ No. 13 overall prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The only Washington prospect ranked higher playing in the AFL was third baseman Cayden Wallace (No. 11).

Known as a line-drive hitter with solid speed on the basepaths and an above-average defensive makeup, he’s put up fine numbers offensively for Salt River. He has a slash line of .281/.360/.517 with four homers and five steals in 19 games entering the title game.

It’s rare that a prospect plays in the AFL for three straight seasons. But the Nationals — who haven’t made the playoffs since 2019 — have good reason to be invested in Hassell’s progression.

Hassell was one of several players that Washington received in the Juan Soto trade in 2022. Some of those trade pieces have already reached the Majors. But his development has been stunted by hand and wrist injuries.

In 85 minor-league games this season he finished with a slash line of .241/.319/.328/.647 with five home runs and 28 RBI. But he played with three different affiliates — High-A Wilmington, Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. With a .125 batting average at Triple-A, he’ll likely need one more year in the minors.

This was his fourth minor-league season after he was the San Diego Padres’ first-round pick in 2020.

The 23-year-old, who was selected to play in the Fall Stars Game last weekend, has played in 428 minor-league games with a slash line of .260/.350/.385/.735 with 83 doubles, nine triples, 36 home runs and 215 RBI.

The other Nationals prospects selected to participate in the AFL were left-handed pitchers Matt Cronin and Dustin Saenz, right-handed pitchers Michael Cuevas, Chase Solesky and Luke Young, along with catcher Maxwell Romero Jr.

Washington played with prospects from the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Colorado Rockies, the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees.