MLB Prospect Profile: Sandro Fabian, OF, San Francisco Giants

Sandro Fabian is doing rather well for himself as a 19-year-old in full-season A-ball. He's drawn a bit of attention since the San Francisco Giants signed him in 2014, but there's a good chance you could be hearing his name with some regularity, very soon.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic at 16 years old for a cool half-mil, Fabian almost immediately settled into pro ball and started making an impression on the Giants. After a solid first year with the rookie-level Giants team in the Dominican Summer League, he moved on to the Arizona League, where he batted .340 with 20 extra-base hits and 35 RBI in only 42 games in 2016.

The organization saw fit to move him up to full-season Class-A ball this season, starting him in the outfield for the Augusta GreenJackets in the South Atlantic League. Fabian is not setting the world on fire (.261 BA, 18 RBI in 29 games), but keep in mind that he's only 19 years old and in his first year in A-ball.

It doesn't help that he plays his home games in a pitcher's park (Lake Olmstead Stadium), where he is batting 99 points lower than he is on the road (.303 road average in 66 AB).

He does use a leg kick with a pronounced load at the plate, but seems to be working away from that habit. He generally takes a short path to the ball but will sweep the plate at times and is somewhat prone to chase outside off-speed pitches. While he seems allergic to walks (3 in 115 AB, so far), he also doesn't strike out quite as much as one would expect with such a young hitter.

His numbers in 2016 were boosted by a ridiculous .388 BABIP, but his ability to put the ball in play frequently will lead to consistently higher batting averages as he matures as a player.

Fabian has always been a dead-pull hitter, with over 50% of his career hits sent to the left side of the field. His lack of physical projection has been a negative for some scouts, but there is the potential for average power here, though in the form of doubles and triples as opposed to home runs.

He is a fly-ball hitter, and this combined with continued development and maturity could lead to double-digit home run totals in the near future. Fabian does take a “grip and rip” approach at times, which will sooner lead to high K totals than it will to improved power numbers, but those strikeout totals should stabilize over the next couple of years without becoming unreasonably high. Fabian has hit in 21 of his 29 games, so far in 2017.

Fabian has a wiry-strong build at 6'1”, 180. He has a strong arm and plus speed in the outfield, and fits naturally in right where his defense plays up even more. He takes consistent routes to fly balls and has a quick first step in the field. Strangely enough, he is not as good a base-runner as his speed might suggest, and is not projected to be more than average on the base-paths.

There have been questions about just how far he can go with his skill set, but by current appearances it seems that Fabian will perform significantly better than early projections would have suggested. Expectations of 10-12 homers, 70 RBI and 30+ doubles per year, give or take, with consistently-sound defense in right field, seem reasonable.

Depending on how his pitch selection comes along as he gains more experience vs. stiffer competition, he could easily top those numbers. However, he's got a long way to go before that happens, and a lot of games to play in the low-level minors.

Here’s some Fangraphs video from last summer: