At the time of the Juan Soto trade, Robert Hassell III was seen as one of the safest pieces in the package. He was a top 40 prospect, who had done nothing but rake his entire career. The outfielder was a former top 10 pick who was racing his way through the lower minors. There were some questions about how much power he had and what his defensive home would be, but nobody questioned his ability to hit.
However, things have changed over the past 2.5 years. After a slow start to life in the Nats organization, Hassell broke his hamate in the 2022 Arizona Fall League. This injury stunted Hassell’s development significantly. The injury messed with Hassell’s natural handsy swing and impacted his ability to hit. It also magnified some other flaws in the youngsters game, such as his lack of pop and his inability to turn on the ball.
These problems derailed Hassell’s 2023, where the kid nicknamed “Bobby Barrels” hit just .221. He looked completely lost, even losing that famous contact ability which made him such a seemingly safe bet.
2024 was slightly better, but still not great. He once again spent most of the season in Double-A, where he was decent. Hassell hit .271 with a .728 OPS at the level, looking closer to the guy he was in the Padres system. However, he finished up the year by getting his doors blown off at Triple-A, going 8 for 64 in Rochester.
After a strong Arizona Fall League campaign gave him some momentum, Hassell has shown up a new man this spring. He started spring by going 8 for his first 14 with four extra base hits and a homer. The homer was especially sweet because we saw Hassell turn on the ball with authority, something he has not done much of since his hamate injury.
As we saw with Trey Lipscomb last year, Spring Training production does not translate to regular season success. Keeping that in mind, the plan should still be to start Hassell in Rochester and let him conquer that level.
However, it finally looks like Bobby Barrels has recaptured that magic which made him so highly touted. I still have some questions about how much juice is in the bat, he is on track to being a productive player. He probably won’t live up to the hype he had before the trade, but Hassell should be a longtime big leaguer. He plays a good centerfield and is an above average runner.
That athleticism and feel to hit will make him a big leaguer. The only question now is can he stay healthy for a full season, and can he tap into any power. It is easy to forget that he is still 23 years old. Despite two difficult and injury plagued seasons, this Spring Training run is showing me that I can’t quit Bobby Barrels just yet.