Being drafted by a Major League Baseball organization isn’t like being drafted in another professional sport. In most cases, the minor leagues are a grind put in place to help players hone their skills so they can compete at the major league level.
Orioles outfield prospect Jud Fabian believes every step in the minors is helping him get closer to achieving his dreams of a career in the major leagues.
The Orioles drafted Fabian with the No. 67 pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound outfielder is now in his third year of pro ball. He is picking up where he left off last year with Double-A Bowie. Fabian believes that he is closer than ever to making his major league dreams come true.
“Double-A is definitely a different level than High- or Low-A,” Fabian said on Glenn Clark Radio April 4. “When I got here, it was like, ‘Wow, I’m pretty close to where I want to be.’ I didn’t realize how close I was until I got to Bowie and got to play the competition that we play. It’s fun to play in that competition, but it’s definitely it’s crazy to think how close you are to making it up to where you want to be.”
Another reminder of just how close Fabian is to reaching his major league goals came in the form of the Spring Breakout game, where Fabian got to play alongside rising stars in the Orioles’ farm system like Samuel Basallo, Enrique Bradfield, Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Connor Norby. While Fabian was a tad awe-struck being around such players, he saw himself as one of them and was excited at the prospect of playing alongside these players in the majors.
“When I walked in the clubhouse, knowing most of the guys that were on the team it was like, ‘Wow, I’m surrounded by a bunch of players that are going to play in the big leagues, are going to have long careers in the big leagues,'” Fabian said. “Just the squad we had, we were like, ‘You know what this team is? It’s pretty dang good. We could probably go win any game we play.’ So, it was it was cool. Obviously get to play with those guys, just getting to see how they work, how they prepare for a game, stuff like that, it’s just really awesome. It was good to be a part of that.”
The young Orioles lost that game to the Pirates’ prospects, but that did not damper Fabian’s spirit. He believes it only motivates him and his teammates to make it to the majors and make some real waves.
As for Fabian himself, the young power hitter has spent the offseason working on his swing. While Fabian has career marks of .239/.365/.466 and 125 hits, 28 home runs and 91 RBIs, strikeouts have been a consistent thorn in his side. He has 196 strikeouts in 640 plate appearances. Given that fact, Fabian has worked hard this offseason to rectify this issue the best he can.
“You’re always going to swing and miss. This game’s a game of failure,” Fabian said. “So, just kind of limiting how many times I do swing and miss, not striking out so many times, but also I know I’m going to fail. So, I’m just going to keep going up there and swinging at strikes and trying to try drive the ball with power.”
Fabian has also worked on the mental side of the game. He believes this aspect of baseball should not be overlooked because of how it can impact a player’s progress in the face of adversity. Fabian credits a great majority of his strides in this regard to Orioles player development mental skills coach Diamyn Hall and hopes to see great results from their work together.
“The mental side of the game is probably the biggest part of baseball. You deal with a bunch ups, you deal with a bunch of downs, mostly downs, and you’ve just got to stay even keel,” Fabian said. “Throughout games you’re going to get out. Some games, you can go 0-for-4 with three strikeouts or something like that, but you can’t let that affect your next game. And I think I did a really good job this spring of talking with our mental skills coach, Diamyn. He’s really helped me focus on that side of the game and it really helped me toward the end of spring training.”
With this in mind Fabian feels physically and mentally ready for a new season and has made it his goal to maintain his physical and mental health. If he can check both boxes, that should aid his production on the field and build a foundation that gives him a path toward the major leagues.
“Focusing on my body and how I’m feeling and how it is going to be staying healthy is my main goal for this year.” Fabian said. “Last year, I kind of was stressing a little bit but this year it’s just about going out, playing and having fun.”
For more from Fabian, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Joe Noyes, Baysox Team Photographer