Washington hosts New York with a five-game skid on the line. The Nationals shuffle the bottom of the order: Robert Hassell moves to center and bats fifth, Riley Adams will handle catching, Brady House returns at third, Nasim Nunez slides to second, and Cade Cavalli starts on the mound. The Mets counter with Cedric Mullins in for Jose Siri and Jeff McNeil at second as Nolan McLean, the club’s new ace with extraordinary movement, gets the ball. The game at Citi Field becomes a test: can cleaner defense and a sharper attack snap the Nats out of their funk and slow a Mets club chasing a playoff push?

Washington hosts Pittsburgh in an early rubber match at Nationals Park, with Washington reshuffling the lineup as Dylan Crews sits. Robert Hassell moves to right, Jacob Young to center, Daylen Lile in left, and James Wood shifts to DH while Riley Adams handles catching and Nasim Nunez stays at second. Cade Cavalli starts for the Nats. Pittsburgh counters with a lefty-friendly lineup featuring Oneil Cruz, Ji Hwan Bae, Spencer Horwitz, Joey Bart catching, and Mike Burrows on the mound. The Nats seek a September spark against aPirates club facing similar odds, hoping to prove they can beat teams in this tier.

The tactical shifts create fantasy intrigue: expect Hassell and Young to climb the batting order, Lile and Wood to contribute from spots that boost run potential, and Cavalli to deliver mixed results against a left-handed heavy Pirates lineup. For Pittsburgh, left-handed combinations against Cavalli will test Washington’s defense and opportunistic baserunning. This game is a chance for both teams to showcase resilience in a tight early-season schedule.

Christian Franklin deserves a real MLB look for the Nationals as outfield production remains spotty. Since arriving in the Michael Soroka trade, the 25-year-old has posted a .296 average and an .840 OPS, showing a well-rounded hit tool and plate discipline that could translate quickly at the big league level. Moving Dylan Crews to center right now would unlock Franklin’s natural corner fit, while Hassell III and Jacob Young have not provided the needed impact. The end-of-season phase should be used to evaluate Leiter-like upside, and Franklin offers a credible test to determine if he belongs in the MLB long term.

With Franklin in the lineup, Crews could slide to his natural center field position, which the article argues is a better long-term alignment for the club. Hassell and Young have carried the lineup but haven’t produced, making a Franklin call-up a low-risk, high-reward move that could reshape the outfield root-up for 2026 and beyond.

Mo'ne Davis and Robert Hassell III cross paths at Nationals Park in a full-circle moment: Davis pitches, Hassell catches, echoing their LLWS showdown from 2014. Hassell, a first-round talent now patrolling the Nationals’ outfield, delivered a respectable MLB debut line this season—.250/.264/.356 with two homers over 106 plate appearances—highlighting the long arc from Little League legend to MLB prospect. The moment also anchors the Soto trade arc, with Hassell among the Padres’ prized prospects who eventually found a path to Washington.

Davis’s return to a pro ballpark ahead of Women’s Pro Baseball League tryouts at the same scene underlines a rare bridge between youth stardom and professional opportunity. For fantasy managers, Hassell’s early big-league production is encouraging but not lockstep, as roster dynamics and depth charts in Washington will influence his playing time. The charity of the Davis-Hassell moment sits inside a broader narrative of how historic LLWS success pathways converge with modern MLB careers, all while Soto’s trade history remains a cautionary tale about prospect timelines.

Andrew Painter of the Philadelphia Phillies, Robert Hassell III from the Washington Nationals, and Spencer Jones of the New York Yankees are highlighted as top fantasy baseball prospects worth stashing. Painter, a promising right-handed pitcher, has rebounded from a rough start in Triple-A, showing strong potential with a recent 2.51 ERA over his last three outings. Hassell, an outfielder, has demonstrated significant production in the minors following a brief MLB stint, posting an impressive .455/.556/.955 line after returning. Meanwhile, Jones has shown power and speed, hitting .403 in his last 16 games with 8 home runs, though concerns about his high strikeout rate remain. These players could provide valuable contributions during the second half of the season, making them essential targets for fantasy managers.