When Gavin Fien was drafted by the Rangers 12th overall, he was listed as a shortstop. However, most evaluators expected him to slide over to third base. When the Nats traded for Fien in the MacKenzie Gore trade, fans envisioned a third baseman of the future. There has been a plot twist though. Gavin Fien has exclusively played in the outfield this season.
This season, Fien has played 22 games. In those games, he has played 10 in right field, 7 in center field and 5 at DH. I get the sense that most
fans still view Gavin Fien as an infielder, but that view should change. Nats fans should look at Fien as an outfield prospect now.
Before the season, people were wondering what the Nats would do with all their shortstop prospects. The great thing about shortstop prospects is that they have the athleticism to move all around the diamond. At the beginning of the year, Fien, Devin Fitz-Gerald, Luke Dickerson and Coy James were all grouped as shortstop prospects. However, none of those guys have played much shortstop this year.
Things have sorted themselves out, with Fien being an outfielder, Fitz-Gerald being a second baseman and James being a third baseman. All three have bright futures, but not at shortstop. For Fien, I think right field is a nice fit for him. Fien is not slow, but he is a bit stiff for the infield. What he does have is a cannon of an arm, which should play well in right field.
The fact he is in the outfield at such a young age is slightly surprising, but it is not a total shock. In his draft report, MLB Pipeline mentioned that the corner outfield or first base was a possibility for Fien. Teams that liked Fien were drafting the bat, not the glove.
Speaking of his bat, Fien has been on a roll at the plate lately. He struggled in a very small sample size, and then got hurt. Once Fien got back, he has been quite productive, especially lately. This past week he was the Carolina League player of the week, with a .500 batting average and an insane 15 RBI’s. Getting 15 RBIs in a week is tough to do at any level.
For a while, Fien’s numbers were in a rough spot, but this week has changed that. For the season, Fien is now hitting .235 with a .731 OPS. He also has 3 homers and 24 RBI in 22 games. These are not otherworldly numbers by any means, but for a first year guy out of high school who dealt with an injury, this is very respectable. I expect those numbers to continue to climb as he keeps adapting to pro ball.
We are starting to see the version of Gavin Fien that showed up at the Spring Breakout game. In that game, Fien put on a show, lacing doubles into the gap at will. Well, he is back to doing that and it is fun to watch. Some of his best swings remind me a little bit of Ryan Zimmerman.
While he is not going to stick at third base like Zim, Fien has that sort of offensive ceiling. He still has some kinks to sort out in his swing, but the youngster has an exciting combination of hitting ability and power. The strikeout rate of 29% is higher than expected, but his overall contact rate of 74.6% is actually pretty good. That makes me think the strikeout rate is destined to come down. He may need to be more aggressive early in counts though.
Fien has not had the type of season to propel him onto top 100 lists like a Devin Fitz-Gerald or Seaver King, but he is getting on track. I think Fien is poised to have a strong finish to the season. With Eli Willits gone, I wonder if he gets some reps on the infield as well.
It has been an odd season for Fien, but he is coming around. The Nationals need outfield prospects in the lower minors, and they found one in an unlikely source. Right now Gavin Fien is the top outfield prospect in the Nationals organization.
