Fabian exhibits five-tool talent in win over Ospreys

No position player in the country entered the 2021 season with more hype than Jud Fabian. The third-year sophomore center fielder is being projected as a top-5 MLB draft pick by some experts.

That made his sluggish start to the year at the plate puzzling. In the Gators’ first four games, he hit just .158 with eight strikeouts and one RBI.

On Wednesday night, he snapped out of it in a big way, showcasing the five-tool talent that made scouts fall in love with him. His five RBI were the difference in No. 7 Florida’s 8-3 defeat of North Florida (1-4).

“[The slump] was frustrating, but that’s part of the game of baseball,” Fabian said. “You’re going to have some ups; you’re going to have some downs. Those were some downs. I just really kind of put it aside and got it out of my head. I talked to a few of the coaches about my swing and got my mental side of things back to where it needed to be.”

As a result, the physical side of things looked pretty darn special against UNF. First, there are the power and contact tools. He hit a pair of line drive home runs to left that probably combined for around 800 feet in distance. The first one was a solo shot that opened the scoring in the bottom of the third, while the second one was a three-run blast in the fifth that expanded the lead to 5-0. The three-run shot had an exit velocity of 112 miles per hour.

“There’s no pressing involved,” Fabian said. “Like you said, we have 56 games or however long we have, but there’s no pressing. It’s the game of baseball. You’re going to fail more times than you succeed. I just kept at it, kept working hard, and I got back to being able to hit two home runs tonight.”

UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan knew that Fabian was destined to break out of his slump sooner rather than later because of his attitude. He didn’t hang his head or pout when things didn’t go his way against Miami. Instead, he remained confident and got in some extra work on Monday, which is the team’s off day.

“I just think it’s the work he’s put in the last three or four days,” O’Sullivan said. “His attitude’s been outstanding. Like I said, often times when guys struggle, they go down to the other end of the dugout and slam their bats and get upset with themselves. It just kind of evolves into a situation where one at bat rolls into another bad at bat and rolls into another bad at bat. But he’s worked awfully hard. He came in the office on Monday, and we watched video. We worked with the coaches. Let’s face it: there’s a lot of pressure on him to perform. It’s a long season, but, like I said, he’s always down by us, and he’s always in the game, and he’s always been engaged.”

He showed off the third tool, speed, in the sixth inning. With Ospreys on first and second with one out, Blake Marabell lined one that seemed destined to drop in front of Fabian and potentially score a run. Instead, Fabian made a terrific read on the liner right at him – often considered the hardest ball for an outfielder to read – and sprinted forward to make the catch.

Three batters later, he displayed the fielding and arm strength tools. After a bases-clearing double cut the Gators’ lead to 5-3, Justin Holmes singled up the middle. Fabian scooped up the ball cleanly and fired a bullet right on the money to catcher Nathan Hickey, who applied the tag to the runner just in time for the final out.

“They ran on me [Tuesday], and I kind of threw a worm burner that just kind of rolled to home plate, and today, I was like, ‘I’m not going to have that happen again,’” Fabian said. “So, I made sure it made it there in the air.”

You can actually make the argument that Fabian was a six-tool player on Wednesday night. He showed tremendous vision in drawing an RBI walk in the bottom of the sixth inning.

For those keeping score at home, that’s five runs that Fabian directly accounted for with his bat and at least one he saved with his glove and arm. That type of all-around value is what makes him so appealing to scouts and major league front offices.

The Gators don’t need Fabian to have a great offense. They averaged 7.8 runs in their first four games with Fabian essentially serving as a designated strikeout. But, if they can get him going and keep him going, this offense will reach a new level. Good luck holding this team to less than five runs if Fabian stays hot.

“I think the entire team was excited for him tonight, just not us,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s a really hard worker. He’s one of the most liked kids on our team, and it was good to see him come out tonight and have a good game.”

Welcome to the 2021 season, Jud Fabian.

Ethan Hughes
Ethan was born in Gainesville and has lived in the Starke, Florida, area his entire life. He played basketball for five years and knew he wanted to be a sportswriter when he was in middle school. He’s attended countless Gators athletic events since his early childhood, with baseball being his favorite sport to attend. He’s a proud 2019 graduate of the University of Florida and a 2017 graduate of Santa Fe College. He interned with the University Athletic Association’s communications department for 1 ½ years as a student and also wrote for InsideTheGators.com for two years before joining Gator Country in 2021. He is a long-suffering fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars. You can follow him on Twitter @ethanhughes97.