Sandro Fabian

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #29 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: The Giants signed Fabian for $500,000 in 2014 and then watched as he reached high Class A by 20 years old. He was the sixth-youngest player in the league to open 2018 but struggled mightily and was looking for a rebound in 2019. That didn't quite happen as planned. Instead, the Giants discovered a thyroid issue that had been attacking Fabian's immune system and shut him down to get treatment. Once that was treated, Fabian regained some strength and began to look like the player the Giants envisioned when they signed him.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: When healthy, Fabian shows the potential to be a gap-to-gap hitter with the ability to drive the ball over the wall at a major league-average rate. The biggest hurdle to reaching that ceiling is plate discipline, an area in which he seemed to make progress during his brief return to the Cal League. He struck out just 33 times in 187 plate appearances, which works out to a 17.6-percent rate. That's a huge improvement from 2018, when he struck out 32 percent of the time at the same level. Fabian is an average runner and has the strong throwing arm required to play a potentially above-average right field.
  
  THE FUTURE: After a brief taste of success in high Class A, Fabian could see his first time at Double-A in 2020.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #26 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: A $500,000 signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2014, Fabian, 20, was one of the youngest players in the high Class A California League in 2018. The Giants have aggressively pushed Fabian ever since he joined the organization, but this past season the athletic outfielder struggled mightily.
  
  Scouting Report: Fabian projects best as a plus defensive right fielder with a plus, accurate arm. His power has improved over the last couple of seasons, and he hit 10 home runs despite being mostly overmatched in the California League. His power should settle in as average in the future. The biggest concern with Fabian this season was his overly aggressive approach that resulted in a career-worst 24 percent strikeout rate. Fabian has shown below-average plate discipline in the past and has never drawn many walks, and those weaknesses were exposed when he was challenged in high Class A. With a more mature approach, Fabian could be an average hitter with time. He's an average runner who has never stolen more than five bases in a season.
  
  The Future: Fabian will return to the California League in 2019. He'll need to make more contact to reach his ceiling of a plus defensive right fielder with a hit-over-power profile.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #9 prospect in 2018
  The Giants have been aggressive promoting Fabian because they trust in his feel for the game and hitting ability. Whenever he's been pushed, he's responded. He was the best player on their DSL team in 2015 and on the Rookie-level AZL Giants in 2016. Sent to low Class A Augusta as a 19-year-old in 2017, Fabian struggled in the first half but kept improving and hit .370/.382/.510 in August to finish the season. Fabian impresses coaches with his ability to learn, adapt and adjust. Evaluators are generally confident he'll hit because he has a knack of putting bat to ball, even though that means he currently swings at pitches he should take. Scouts who like him see a future plus hitter with average power, which could work in right field because he's plus defender there with a plus, accurate arm. What he lacks is the typical right field power profile, as he's more a hitter than a slugger with 15-18 home run projections in his future once he matures. Fabian's strong finish showed he's ready to jump to high Class A San Jose. He's going to have to become more selective about what pitches he swings at, but he's young enough to figure that out.
• 
  Ranked San Francisco Giants #8 prospect in 2017
  Fabian was the Giants' top target on the 2014 international market, and they signed him for $500,000. He helped lead the his Dominican Summer League team to the league title in 2015 and followed it up by being one of the best hitters in the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2016. The 18-year-old ranked among the league's best in many offensive categories, including average (.340), extra-base hits (20) and slugging (.522). Fabian is an advanced hitter for his age, and he loves the challenge of catching up to quality fastballs. He has a significant leg lift to begin his swing, using it to load and explode into the pitch. He does a good job of using his lower half in his swing, but his lack of current pitch awareness makes him vulnerable to offspeed pitches. His hand-eye coordination allowed him to survive against AZL pitchers despite his aggressiveness. Fabian is a plus defender in right field with excellent routes and a good first step. He has a plus arm with accuracy. Fabian is a below-average runner and faces questions about his power potential. He shows fringe-average raw power now, but his lean frame limits his growth potential. Fabian lacks physical projection and is a fringe athlete who succeeds more because of hard work and feel for the game. He will attempt to keep exceeding expectations in 2017, possibly at low Class A Augusta.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Arizona Complex League #14 prospect in 2016
  San Francisco's top international sign in 2014 with a bonus of $500,000, Fabian was unquestionably the top performer on an older AZL Giants team. The 18-year-old outfielder made the league's all-star team while ranking in the top four in the league in batting (.340), slugging (.522) and OPS (.886). He flashed a plus arm from right field. Scouts are mixed on Fabian's future. He's not as projectable as other, more toolsy Latin teenagers, but scouts acknowledge the guy just plain rakes. He's a good fastball hitter who needs to work on laying off bad pitches and not take so many aggressive hacks. He has good gap power, projecting to have average to above-average pop, but won't be a big time slugger. A below-average runner, Fabian gets good jumps and profiles as a natural right fielder. "He was the best defensive player in the Arizona League," said Giants manager Henry Cotto, himself a top-notch defender during a 10-year big league career.

• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Giants signed Fabian for $500,000 in 2014 and then watched as he reached high Class A by 20 years old. He was the sixth-youngest player in the league to open 2018 but struggled mightily and was looking for a rebound in 2019. That didn't quite happen as planned. Instead, the Giants discovered a thyroid issue that had been attacking Fabian's immune system and shut him down to get treatment. Once that was treated, Fabian regained some strength and began to look like the player the Giants envisioned when they signed him.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: When healthy, Fabian shows the potential to be a gap-to-gap hitter with the ability to drive the ball over the wall at a major league-average rate. The biggest hurdle to reaching that ceiling is plate discipline, an area in which he seemed to make progress during his brief return to the Cal League. He struck out just 33 times in 187 plate appearances, which works out to a 17.6-percent rate. That's a huge improvement from 2018, when he struck out 32 percent of the time at the same level. Fabian is an average runner and has the strong throwing arm required to play a potentially above-average right field.
  
  THE FUTURE: After a brief taste of success in high Class A, Fabian could see his first time at Double-A in 2020.
• December, 2016 Scouting Report
  Background: Fabian was the Giants' top target on the 2014 international market, and they signed him for $500,000. He helped lead his Dominican Summer League team to the league title in 2015 and followed it up by being one of the best hitters in the Rookie-level Arizona League in 2016. The 18-year-old ranked among the league's best in many offensive categories, including average (.340), extra-base hits (20) and slugging (.522). Scouting Report: Fabian is an advanced hitter for his age, and he loves the challenge of catching up to quality fastballs. He has a significant leg lift to begin his swing, using it to load and explode into the pitch. He does a good job of using his lower half in his swing, but his lack of current pitch awareness makes him vulnerable to offspeed pitches. His hand-eye coordination allowed him to survive against AZL pitchers despite his aggressiveness. Fabian is a plus defender in right field with excellent routes and a good first step. He has a plus arm with accuracy. Fabian is a below-average runner. He shows fringe-average raw power now, but his lean frame limits his growth potential.
  
  The Future: Fabian lacks physical projection and is a fringe athlete who succeeds more because of hard work and feel for the game. He will attempt to keep exceeding expectations in 2017, possibly at low Class A Augusta.