Robert Hassell III had an interesting year. In a lot of ways, it was similar to the season Brady House had. Both dominated in the Minors before really struggling once they got called up to the MLB. However,
with Hassell being a couple years older than House, there is more urgency for him to succeed right away.
2023 and 2024 were very difficult years for Robert Hassell III. The former top 10 pick, who was known for his natural hitting ability really struggled to hit in the Minors. In both of those seasons, Hassell had an OPS below .650. Hassell also struggled to stay at full health. A hamate injury really sidetracked him in both of those seasons.
However, Nats fans had plenty of optimism when Hassell showed up on fire to Spring Training. He was the breakout star in Nats camp and really battled to win a roster spot. Hassell hit .370 in spring and had fans clamoring for him to break camp.
However, after a couple difficult seasons in the Minors, the Nats took the patient approach and sent him to Triple-A. After struggling in the first month of the season, Hassell came to life in May. He hit .330 with 5 homers that month, which led to his first MLB call up.
Hassell wasted no time making his mark in the MLB. He got a base hit in his first career at bat and was red hot the first couple games of his career. It looked like Hassell had figured it out now that he was finally healthy.
However, the game has a way of humbling you. Hassell really struggled in that initial call up. Before getting demoted, Hassell’s OPS was under .500. He was getting overmatched and needed to reset in AAA.
The Nationals would send him down after really struggling in June. However, Hassell took the demotion well and worked on his game. He eliminated his toe tap and moved to a bigger leg lift. That led to better timing and more pull side power. His patience was also a lot better. In AAA, Hassell walked over 10% of the time.
His good play got him another promotion. Once again, Hassell came out red hot. Armed with the new leg kick, Hassell was firing on all cylinders. He was pulling more fly balls, which led to some more extra base hits and homers.
However, it would not last. Once again, Hassell would cool off. A big reason why his bat has not been sustainable is his big strikeout numbers and low walk rate. For the season, Hassell struck out over 30% of the time and walked less than 4% of the time.
For a guy known for his hitting ability, those strikeout rates just do not fly. Unlike James Wood, he does not have the power to make up for that kind of swing and miss. We saw Daylen Lile’s hitting ability translate, but that was not the case for Hassell. Despite hitting .310 with an .839 OPS in AAA, that hitting ability did not come with him to the MLB.
On defense, Hassell played a decent center field. He put up -1 OAA, but got his overall fielding value to 0 due to gaining value with his strong arm. The thing with Hassell is that he does not have a tool he can really hang his hat on. Everything is just average at best across the board.
His hitting ability was supposed to be his carrying tool, but as he went up the Minors into the MLB, the hit tool has not been as advertised. With a glut of outfielders, Hassell could be the odd man out here. We wrote about that at the end of the season. He has the ability to be a versatile piece in an outfield if he can make some improvements.
However, the Nationals have a lot of these potential fourth outfielder types. Between Hassell, Andrew Pinckney and Christian Franklin, there is a surplus of future fourth outfielders. Hassell has the biggest name of those three, so a trade could be possible.
Overall, this was a decent year for Hassell. He rebounded his stock in the Minors and got his way to the MLB. However, he really struggled once he got there. It will be interesting to see what Paul Toboni does with Hassell.
Season Grade: A in the minors and D in the MLB
