FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Minor League Baseball today announced that outfielder Robert Hassell III has been selected as a 2022 High-A Midwest League All-Star. Votes were cast by the league’s 12 managers. Hassell starred for the Fort Wayne TinCaps from Opening Day on April 8 up until he was traded by the San Diego Padres to the Washington Nationals on Aug. 2.
Hassell, the eighth overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, is the first TinCap to earn post-season all-star status since 2019, and the team’s first outfielder to be recognized with such a distinction since 2015. (See list below.)
In 75 games with the TinCaps this past season, Hassell hit .299 with 10 home runs and 55 RBIs. He produced a .379 on-base percentage and .467 slugging percentage (.846 on-base plug slugging). Hassell also tallied 19 doubles, a triple, and 20 stolen bases, while serving as the club’s primary center fielder.
At the time he was traded, as part of the deal that brought National League All-Star Juan Soto to the Padres, the Franklin, Tenn., native ranked fourth in the Midwest League in batting average and RBIs, ninth in OBP, and 10th in OPS.
During the 2022 season, Hassell, who turned 21 in August, became the first-ever active TinCap to appear in Major League Baseball’s Futures Game as part of the MLB All-Star Game festivities in Los Angeles. Wearing his TinCaps batting helmet, Hassell started for the National League at Dodger Stadium, batting second in the order, and delivered a run-scoring hit.
After being traded to the Nationals, Hassell played in 10 games for the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks and then was promoted to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators for his final 27 games of the season. In October, Hassell was assigned to the Arizona Fall League, featuring many of the sport’s top prospects, though his time there was cut short due a reoccurring hand injury that required surgery. Hassell is expected to be 100 percent and ready to go for Spring Training in 2023.
MLB.com ranks Hassell as the No. 1 Nationals prospect, the No. 4 outfielder prospect in baseball, and the 22nd best prospect overall.
Hassell hopes to join the ranks of 208 former Fort Wayne players who’ve reached the big leagues during the franchise’s history, including 56 who appeared in the majors in 2022.
The next wave of all-star talent will hit Fort Wayne in the spring, as the TinCaps begin their 2023 season at West Michigan on Thursday, April 6, with Opening Day at Parkview Field set for Tuesday, April 11 (6:35 p.m.) against the Cleveland Guardians-affiliated Lake County Captains. Season ticket plans and group outings are on sale now. Click here for more information.
Fort Wayne’s Midwest League Post-Season All-Stars
- 2022: Outfielder Robert Hassell III
- 2019: Second Baseman Xavier Edwards, Left-Handed Pitcher Joey Cantillo
- 2018: Left-Handed Pitcher Osvaldo Hernandez, Left-Handed Reliever Travis Radke
- 2016: Catcher Austin Allen
- 2015: Outfielder Nick Torres
- 2014: First Baseman Jake Bauers
- 2012: Right-Handed Pitcher Adys Portillo, Catcher Austin Hedges
- 2011: Outfielder Rymer Liriano
- 2010: Catcher Jason Hagerty
- 2009: Right-Handed Reliever Brad Brach
- 2008: Right-Handed Reliever Jackson Quezada
- 2006: Outfielder Will Venable
Information on award winners prior to 2005 not readily retrievable.
