KANSAS CITY -- Randal Grichuk had a soft smile on his face between first and second base before turning back to the Royals’ dugout. Nationals starter Mitchell Parker pumped his fist, shocked at what he witnessed. Riley Adams raised his right arm, cheering on his teammate. From the top step, Sean Doolittle raised his hat in admiration.
But Robert Hassell III simply showed the ball to the umpires, calm as could be, before throwing it back into the infield.
For the first out of the bottom of the fourth inning, Hassell executed a perfectly timed leap at the center-field wall to rob Grichuk of a home run in the Nationals’ 8-5 loss on Tuesday at Kauffman Stadium. It was a spectacular play that Parker didn’t give Hassell a chance at making off the bat.
“I thought that [ball] was way out of there. That was awesome,” said Parker, who allowed five runs on two hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings. “I mean, I’m obviously a pitcher that uses the outfield quite often, so them being able to bring a couple of those back, it’s awesome.
"It’s nice seeing him out there, running and making cool plays.”
Despite Hassell, the Nationals’ No. 13 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, not displaying much outward emotion after the catch, it was a play that fired up the 23-year-old.
“I came in and [MacKenzie] Gore asked me if I had ever done that before, and I said, ‘Maybe in Little League,’” Hassell said, who went 1-for-4 at the plate in addition to snatching Grichuk’s 418-foot drive. “I don’t even know, that may have been the first time I’ve ever done that. But it definitely feels good. Definitely.”
And it wasn’t even his only highlight-reel catch of the night. To begin the fifth inning, Hassell charged in on Nick Loftin’s 100.4 mph sinking line drive, fully extending to make the diving catch on a sprint. Hassell covered 52 feet in 3.4 seconds on a ball that had a 85% hit probability to take away another potential extra-base hit.
Comparing the two plays, Hassell gave the slight edge to his homer robbery in terms of difficulty.
“I think going back is tougher, just because the wall is back there,” Hassell said. “You can see everything in front of you, you can’t see behind you.”
It was a fantastic defensive night for Hassell, who continues to impress in his second stint in the Majors. Despite an electric MLB debut and a .270 batting average with six RBIs in the nine games after his first callup, Hassell was optioned to Triple-A Rochester on June 16 with a .171 average and 12 K’s in 41 at-bats over 12 games in June.
But he mashed in his time with the Red Wings, slashing .336/.435/.519 with six homers, six doubles and 25 RBIs in 33 contests before his promotion back to the big leagues at the start of the month.
The result? Hassell is slashing .364/.391/.682 with a homer, four doubles and five RBIs in his first 22 at-bats in August -- in addition to his elite defense.
Hassell, the No. 8 pick in the 2020 MLB Draft -- was acquired by Washington from the Padres in the 2022 Juan Soto trade. He is one of many young core pieces the Nationals are giving extended playing time as the club looks to build around young stars such as CJ Abrams and James Wood, who were also acquired in the Soto deal.
Wood had his fourth straight two-hit game on Tuesday, clobbering a RBI double in the seventh at 118 mph -- the second hardest-hit ball in Nationals history in the Statcast era (since 2015).
Wood is platooning with Hassell, Jacob Young and Daylen Lile in the outfield while Dylan Crews, another piece of the Nationals’ future, continues his rehab from a left oblique strain.
With two outfield positions open, Hassell is doing everything he can to earn extended playing time over the final six-plus weeks of the regular season. Tuesday was his first start since Friday, but that competition -- and will to win -- has fueled Hassell’s recent hot stretch.
And those two catches, along with his improvement at the plate, are the latest examples of why Hassell has forced his way back into the lineup.
“I think it lights a fire underneath us all,” Hassell said. “First and foremost, we’re worried about winning. And when we win, it feels really good, no matter who is playing. But yeah, in the meantime, everyone is working as hard as they can, doing the best they can, and that’s really all you can ask for.”