On Sunday, June 18, Orioles outfield prospect Jud Fabian heard from High-A Aberdeen manager Roberto Mercado that he was being called up to Double-A Bowie.
It was a culmination of a quick rise through the low minors during his first year in pro ball.
“It’s hard to describe, honestly. You work your whole life to make it to the bigs, and in the minors, you work to get to that next level as quick as you can,” Fabian said on Glenn Clark Radio June 22. “Sunday, my manager told me I was coming to Bowie, and it was just a great feeling.”
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound outfielder has only played in 11 games for his new team but has been putting up impressive numbers. Fabian is hitting .229/.315/.521 with 11 hits, four home runs, seven RBIs and two stolen bases entering play on July 3.
Fabian, 22, began the 2023 season in Aberdeen, where he hit .281/.392/.490 with 54 hits, 9 home runs, 43 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He split the 2022 season between the Florida Complex League, Low-A Delmarva and Aberdeen after being drafted.
Fabian said he works with a medicine ball to help improve his hitting. He puts a medicine ball on top of a bucket behind home plate to represent the middle of the zone rather than the corners. The goal is to swing at pitches in line with the medicine ball and not around it. Fabian said this has helped him with his plate discipline during his time in the system.
“It just all comes with work and practice every day,” Fabian said. “Taking BP, your [pitchers] are always not going to throw you strikes all the time, so just making sure you hit strikes when he throws it to you.”
Another part of Fabian’s game that has taken a step forward is his base-stealing ability. He said he wanted to develop a better feel for how to take advantage of his speed to get into scoring position for his teammates when he was on base.
As such, Fabian focused on stealing bases a lot this spring training. He looks for pitchers to lift their heads before delivering a pitch. He said that if a pitcher lifts their head before throwing, he will use that to his advantage when taking off because he has that extra moment to do so.
“Pitchers have different tendencies on when they’re going to pick,” Fabian said. “They only get three pickoff attempts, and if they don’t get you on the third, it’s a balk, so you get second regardless.”
Fabian was drafted 67th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft out of the University of Florida. He racked up several accolades after a monster 2021 season, including First Team All-SEC, All-SEC Defensive Team, Southeast-ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team and Third Team All-American (Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA).
Fabian was taken with the 40th pick of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox, who reportedly offered Fabian an over-slot bonus of $2 million to sign. The Orioles had been eyeing Fabian with the 41st pick, but once Fabian was selected, the Orioles decided to draft East Carolina second baseman Connor Norby. Fabian turned down Boston’s offer and returned to Florida for his junior season.
The Orioles took advantage of their second chance in the 2022 draft. They selected Fabian with the 67th overall pick and signed him for slot money at about $1.027 million. The Orioles have been making strides in their organization every year, and that continues with Fabian.
“It’s very exciting,” Fabian said. “Getting drafted and coming in, just seeing the talent that the Orioles have in the system and even at the big league level right now, it’s really good to see.”
Fabian said there is a ton of talent and that good baseball is played in the Orioles system.
“Everyone’s really easy to talk to, and they’re also great baseball players,” Fabian said. “So you mix those two things together, it’s going to be hard to beat on the baseball field.”
For more from Fabian, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Joseph Noyes