The third Florida Gator to hear their name called in the 2022 MLB draft was none other than center fielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag].
The Baltimore Orioles snapped up the slugger with the 67th overall pick, which was the first pick of the competitive balance B round. It’s a 27-spot drop from last year’s selection at 40th overall by the Boston Red Sox. Fabian returned to Florida after failing to agree on a deal with Boston in hopes of improving his stock. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but Fabian did improve slightly in the areas scouts hoped he would.
The scouting report on Fabian has always been that he’s an above-average fielder with some plus power in his bat. His contact tool was a bit of a question mark following 2021 after striking out 79 times and walking just 40 as a redshirt sophomore. In nine more at-bats as a junior, Fabian lowered his strikeout total by 10 and upped the walks to 62. However, he batted just .239 overall — the second worst number of his Gators career — and .185 against the conference.
The SEC is well-regarded as the top conference in college baseball, and there should be concerns about Fabian’s struggles late in the year.
Still, he leaves Gainesville as one of the best outfielders to ever wear the orange and blue.
| Year | AVG | GP | GS | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
| 2019 | .232 | 56 | 54 | 168 | 32 | 39 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 26 | 28 | 45 |
| 2020 | .294 | 17 | 17 | 68 | 19 | 20 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 18 |
| 2021 | .249 | 59 | 59 | 225 | 51 | 56 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 46 | 40 | 79 |
| 2022 | .239 | 66 | 66 | 234 | 63 | 56 | 10 | 1 | 24 | 55 | 62 | 69 |
Fabian set the single-season program record for home runs in a season by an outfielder, passing Brad Wilkerson’s 23 by just one homer, and he is third all-time in long balls with 56 behind Matt LaPorta (74) and Preston Tucker (57).
His 143 career walks are also good for fifth all-time, and his 24 sacrifice bunts are good for a share of the No. 6 spot on the all-time list since 1985. On the other side of that coin, his 211 strikeouts put him at second-most all-time in a Florida uniform.
[mm-video type=video id=01g7yv23sytz7qkmzrms playlist_id=01eqbz250mdknqvm5z player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g7yv23sytz7qkmzrms/01g7yv23sytz7qkmzrms-8febc040ac579b913d42d4882af62b24.jpg]
[lawrence-related id=86951,86490,86473]
[listicle id=87497]
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
Let us know your thoughts and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!