Fabian enjoying his first camp experience

SARASOTA, Fla. – Jud Fabian could have used a spoiler alert.

The young outfielder wasn’t surprised when the Orioles announced their roster of spring training invites earlier this month and slapped his name on the list.

“I kind of got told in November that it might be a possibility,” he said, “but other than that, I was just excited when I got that call that I was gonna be here.”

Baseball America ranks Fabian as the No. 9 prospect in the system, though he’s the fifth outfielder behind Heston Kjerstad, Vance Honeycutt, Enrique Bradfield Jr. and Dylan Beavers. He’s a second-round draft pick in 2022 out of the University of Florida and he appeared in 30 games with Triple-A Norfolk last summer. It made sense that he’d be in major league camp for the first time.

“It’s been fun,” he said recently. “It’s been fun to meet all these guys and go with how they’re working and what they do every day to get better. It’s a good learning experience for me and it’s been fun so far.”

Fabian came off the bench yesterday, walked and struck out. He’s 1-for-3 with three walks this spring.

Fabian doesn’t attract the same attention as the other outfield prospects. Kjerstad, who graduated from that status with other outlets, has ridiculous power and status as the second-overall selection in 2020. Honeycutt isn’t here, but he was a first-rounder last summer. Bradfield Jr. was a first-rounder in 2023 and he has blazing speed and elite defensive skills in center field. Beavers was the 33^rd overall pick in 2022, which puts him ahead of Fabian, and he’s batting .270/.369/.440 in 267 minor league games. He totaled 19 doubles, five triples, 15 home runs, 50 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases in 34 attempts last year in 119 games with Double-A Bowie.

“It was pretty good,” Fabian said. “I learned a lot about myself. I learned I need to be a little more mature at the plate, not chase as much, focus on a few pitches that maybe have given me some fits, and I really hit that in the offseason. So I’m ready to go.”

The stock remains strong with Fabian, mostly due to his power. He’s slashing .228/.337/.430 in 270 games, but he’s hit 44 home runs over the past two seasons. MLB Pipeline gives him 60-grade power and a 60-grade arm while projecting him to play center field in the long term. He’s just got to cut down on the swing and miss.

Fabian made that last part a particular point of emphasis over the winter, but there was more. The Orioles told Fabian what else they wanted and he shared what he needed to focus on heading into camp.

“And that was one of the big keys is hitting fastballs at the top of the zone,” he said, “and I really focused on that in the offseason and got really good at it.”

The camp experience is enhanced for Fabian by his friendships inside the clubhouse.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “I’ve known Beav since we got drafted, and I’ve known Enrique since we were playing against each other in college, and he brings a lot to the game. I saw that when he was at Vandy. And Beavs is really good at everything he does. It’s been fun being around those guys. And even Vance when he comes down here. Got to work with him and be around him. We’ve got a lot of talent in the outfield.”

Fabian is part of it.

* Being a camp instructor again and working with teammates J.J. Hardy and Adam Jones led Brian Roberts down a nostalgic path to reach the baseball operations center.

Roberts appeared in only 17 games in 2012, his penultimate season with the Orioles, due to lingering effects from a concussion, a groin injury and hip surgery. But the club returned to the playoffs after 14 straight losing seasons and defeated the Rangers in the Wild Card game in Arlington.

“I think you just look at the guys who were on the team,” Roberts said, explaining what made it so special. “Jonesy manning center field didn’t get a whole lot better than that. (Nick) Markakis didn’t get a whole lot better than that in right. Manny (Machado) came up and started playing third and it didn’t get a whole lot better than that. J.J never missed a ball at short, and C.D. (Chris Davis) was hitting bombs. (Matt) Wieters was catching.

“It was just a really, really good team all the way around. And everybody enjoyed being with each other. That was another big part of it. I think everybody got along really well and had a good time, but when it was game time, everybody knew it was time to do your job.”