Coming into the 2021 baseball season, Jud Fabian had a chance to be the first-position player selected in the 2021 MLB Draft. Playing for the University of Florida, who ranked first in the nation prior to the start of the season, Fabian and his squad got off to a slow start.
Fabian, listed at 6’2″, 200 pounds, had previously spent two years with the Gators, though he enrolled early with Florida after playing for Trinity Catholic in High School. He is one of the rare players that throw left but hits from the right side of the plate. Fabian has shown off his power in 2021 as he has hit 20 home runs, which leads the SEC as the start of the NCAA tournament.
Hit: 45, Power: 60, Run 55, Arm: 60, Field: 50, Overall: 50
Strengths
Fabian is a five-tool player who has shown off his power in his third year in college with Florida. He is a player that can bat at the top of the order and run. Fabian also can hit the ball all over the field, with power to right field. He also has shown that he can hit the off-speed pitch.
Fabian may ultimately end up playing a corner outfield position. He possesses a strong arm. Defensively, Fabian is a strong outfielder that reads the ball well off the bat. While he has not attempted many steals, he could be a player in the big leagues that can swipe 15-20 bases a year with his speed.
Fabian is also not too far from being MLB ready. He spent parts of three seasons in college and is not a player that lacks confidence. Playing in the SEC, he has faced talented pithing that includes Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker.
Weakness
The biggest weakness to Fabian’s game has been the high strikeout numbers. Unlike most powerful bats coming out of college, Fabian has shown the ability to be more of a three true outcomes player with a lot of home runs, strikeouts, and walks. However, in 2021, he struck out a total of 76 times and struggled with pitches up in the zone, giving him a strikeout rate pushing 30%, which is not good. Additionally, that rate is almost double his walk total
Fabian had eight games where he struck out at least three times, as well as a pair of games where he struck out four and one game where he stuck out five times. He also has never been a hitter that has hit for much of an average. Fabian hit .294 in a shortened 2020 season but has been under .260 both as a freshman and junior. In two games in the NCAA Tournament, Fabian went 0-8 as the Gators were outscored 24-4 in their two games.
MLB Comparison
Fabian has much more hype than someone like Randal Grichuk of the Toronto Blue Jays, but the two are pretty similar. They both have shown they can hit for a lot of power as well as play tremendous defense with great speed. Depending on where he gets drafted will ultimately determine where he ends up playing. Fabian should be a player that if he can reach his potential, could be a MLB All Star, but is going to need to find a way to put the ball in play more.
Players Mentioned: Jud Fabian, Jack Leiter, Kumar Rocker, Randal Grichuk
Main Photo: Embed from Getty Images
