Washington Nationals’ Young Robert Hassell III Can Be Barrels Of Fun

It took Robert Hassell III longer to reach the Major Leagues than some expected. The Washington Nationals’ 23-year-old outfielder fully intends to stay in The Big Show much longer.

Hassell, you see, was a bigger-than-life high school legend. Many forecast him to reach the Majors shortly after being drafted eighth overall and receiving a $4.3 million signing bonus in the 2020 MLB Draft.

That’s more money than anyone in Thompson’s Station, TN, has likely ever dreamed about – including Hassell when he was setting records there at Independence High School. Before that, on his 13th birthday, his team lost in the Little League World Series to legendary girl pitcher Mo’ne Davis.

“I’ve been in that situation where I’m facing Mo’ne Davis,” Hassell said shortly after being drafted. “There are 40,000 people chanting Mo’ne Davis while you’re up to bat, wanting her to strike you out. I’ve been in those situations, and they’re tough.

“Because I’ve had those nerves at 11-12, I don’t want to strike out, I don’t want to embarrass myself, I’ve been through those. Going through that made me more mature, not just from a baseball perspective, but from life in general. I figured out there are going to be people who want you to lose. There are going to be people who don’t want you to do well. But if you know yourself, and you have confidence in yourself, you can overcome any of that stuff. I learned that at an early age and that’s definitely helped me.”

The 6-1, 180-pound left-hand hitter earned the nickname “Bobby Barrels” for his ability to put the barrel of the bat upon a baseball. He did it all the time as a teen, hitting .407, .416, .423 and .500 in his four years of prep ball. He also pitched a no-hitter, striking out 17 with a fastball timed in the low 90s. As a junior, he fanned 113 and had a 1.07 ERA over 59 innings.

He hit a home run in his first time up all four years. When he made his big-league debut on May 22, he lined the first pitch he saw for a single.

“He’s had that swing since he started playing baseball,” Mike McLaury, Hassell’s coach at Independence High told AJ Cassawell of MLB.com in 2020. “It hasn’t changed much. He’s just gotten bigger, stronger and faster, but his swing has not changed much. He was just born with it.”

Between his scholastic stardom and MLB debut, Hassell endured a few unexpected career hassles. Great expectations turned to a tale of two cities as he was part of a blockbuster trade. Then he got hurt and for the first time in his life, struggled to hit.

What Happened?

Drafted by the San Diego Padres, Hassell hit .302 with 11 homers and 34 stolen bases at age 19 in the low minors in 2021. The next year he was batting .299 with 10 homers and 20 steals in 75 games at High-A Fort Wayne when he became a key piece in a 6-for-2 deal for Nationals’ sluggers Juan Soto and Juan Bell.

Washington also got young outfielder James Wood, shortstop C.J. Abrams, pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Jarlin Susana and veteran first baseman Luke Voit. Gore went right into the Nationals’ rotation and Abrams became an NL All-Star in 2023. Wood, picked in the second round in 2021, developed faster than Hassell and was called up a year ago. He’s hitting .288 with 15 homers, 42 RBI and 9 steals this year.

Hassell, judged the top prospect in the Washington farm system at the time, went to the 2022 Arizona Fall League and broke the hamate bone in his right wrist. It took most of two years for him to recover.

In 2023, he had another hand injury, struggling to hit .221 and had 161 strikeouts. Back to the AFL, he began to put his swing back in order and batted .290. But in 2024, he missed time with a groin injury and hit only .241 in 85 games across three levels.

It was back to Arizona for a third time last fall. He hit .281 with four homers in 22 games. He had his own personal rooting section behind the plate calling out, “Bobby Barrels”. It was his mom and dad.

Hassell’s father said 4-year-old Bobby looked awful as a right-hander.

“He came back inside and told my mom, ‘I think that’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my life; I think we should try something else,'” Hassell told Cassawell. “But he brought me back out there and he turned me around to lefty, and it was just natural. I was hitting everything.”

Robert Hassell III In 2025

He built upon his fall work and continued to make good contact this year at Triple-A Rochester, hitting .288 in 43 games and finally got the call up. He went 2-for-5 with two runs and a steal in his career debut against the Atlanta Braves.

Then he went 0-for-12 with four strikeouts over four games, plunging his average to .118 before facing 2023 AL all-star Logan Gilbert of the Seattle Mariners on May 28. Hassell lined singles to left-center in the second and fourth innings. In the eighth, he launched a 415-foot homer to right-center off reliever Blas Castano.

“I’m glad to get (my first homer) out of the way,” Hassell told The Washington Post. “I thank (manager) Davey (Martinez) for bringing me back down to earth before the game. Brought me in and was talking about just being me. … So I have him the credit for that.”

Hassell went on to credit the manager for calming him down from trying to hit a monstrous home run every time up.

He likely will have many more ups and downs this year and in the future. While he was a precocious pick in the draft, everything had come easy to him because of his athleticism. The past couple of years, he has begun to learn what it truly takes to be a professional player.

The athleticism is there. He’s a good outfielder with speed to play center field and the arm to play right field. And he has that sweet swing.

Robert Hassell III still has all the makings of a star. Learning how to ignore the hype of being a top prospect and connecting all the dots to do it is not always as easy as it appears. Many other high draft picks never even reached the majors. Hassell has, and is determined to stay.