2:34pm: The Nationals have formally recalled Hassell from Triple-A Rochester and positioned Crews on the 10-day injured listing because of a left indirect pressure.
Might 21, 8:20am: Nats GM Mike Rizzo confirmed in an look on the Sports activities Junkies radio present this morning that Hassell is being promoted at this time (hat tip to TalkNats). He didn’t specify whether or not Crews or Younger could be positioned on the injured listing.
Might 20: The Nationals are recalling outfielder Robert Hassell III for his MLB debut, as first reported by Chase Ford of MiLB Central. The Nats are coping with a pair of accidents of their outfield. Jacob Younger has been day-to-day with shoulder soreness since crashing right into a wall on Saturday. Extra alarmingly, Dylan Crews exited tonight’s win over Atlanta with left facet discomfort after a swing. Supervisor Dave Martinez mentioned postgame that Crews would go for imaging tomorrow (by way of Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com).
Hassell turns into the fourth younger participant of the 2022 Juan Soto commerce to go well with up for the Nats. James Wooden, MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams all seem like foundational items. (Veteran first baseman Luke Voit additionally performed in 53 video games down the stretch that yr.) MLBTR’s Steve Adams appeared again on the huge haul in a publish for Entrance Workplace subscribers earlier this month.
Hassell was the #8 total select of highschool in 2020. He was batting .299 in Excessive-A throughout his second full minor league season when he was traded. The 23-year-old’s prospect inventory has dropped over the previous few years. Hassell posted an OPS beneath .650 in consecutive seasons in 2023-24. He hit beneath .250 in every year with single-digit residence run totals. He nonetheless ranked twelfth amongst Washington prospects at Baseball America over the winter, however he’d been as excessive as #2 within the group instantly after the commerce.
Hassell is hitting .277/.327/.384 by way of 171 plate appearances this season with Triple-A Rochester. It’s his highest batting common since his 2021 season within the low minors, however there’s nonetheless an total lack of affect. Hassell has 4 homers with a 7% stroll charge. The typical Worldwide League hitter owns a .251/.340/.402 batting line. Hassell is beneath that in each on-base share and slugging. To his credit score, he has heated up for the reason that calendar flipped to Might. The lefty hitter has mashed at a .339/.381/.559 clip this month after placing up a .242/.296/.286 line by way of the top of April.
That sizzling streak mixed with the Nats’ outfield accidents to get Hassell his first massive league name. He’s already on the 40-man roster, because the Nats chosen his contract final November to maintain him out of the Rule 5 draft. He’s the one middle fielder who’s on the 40-man and on elective project, making him a logical selection to come back up. The Nats are holding out hope that Younger will keep away from the injured listing, however a Crews IL keep appears seemingly.
