Andrew
Fairbrother

WNY Unsigned Senior Day (October 21, 2018)

Strongly built with an athletic frame at 6-foot-2, 185-pounds. Offensively – Sets up in wide, balanced stance with slight knee bend. Feet square to pitcher. Shifts weight into backside with subtle leg lift before initiating forward move. Hands stay relaxed near back shoulder with slight scap load prior to swing. Quick, compact swing. Stays inside of the ball consistently. Presently more of a line drive approach but projects to hit for more power with additional strength. Defensively – Light on his feet when moving around the bag at 3b. Balanced, controlled defensive actions with steady tempo. Keeps hips low while funneling ball in. Displayed a soft glove hand with a clean exchange into low ¾ arm slot. Loose, whippy arm action. Projects to stay at corner INF at the next level

8/7/18: St. John Fisher (Campus Series)

Well built standing 6-foot-2, 175-pounds from a lean strong frame. Clean actions, open glove out in front, moves well to his glove side, high ¾ slot with carry to the bag with above average arm-strength at 87 mph. Offensively – Upright stance that closes off to the pitcher after forward stride. Hands pull back during load to create separation. Hard, line drive contact to pull-side.

WNY All-Star Games (September 24, 2017)

Fairbrother is a solid 6-foot-2 175 pound 3B RHP. Offensively- Even setup; slight wrap of the barrel with a quiet stride. Stays behind the ball well with and aggressive lower half. Gets on the same plain as the ball with a slight uphill, two-handed finish. Pounds the gaps with doubles power right now. Improved exit velocity of 87 MPH (+2 from July). Defensively- Improved activity with his lower half then from past events. First step is quicker and he creates good angles on the ball. At his best when he plays through the ball. More then adequate left side arm at 82 MPH across the diamond, a 1 MPH improvement off his previous best. Pitching- Sets up to the far glove side of the rubber with a short side step up to a mid chest balance point. Arm action breaks across the belt working towards the plate from a 3/4 arm slot. Arm features some late acceleration with his FB sitting 81-83 MPH, touching 84 MPH. Breaking ball with more of a slider/slurve shape at 69-72 MPH. Starting to develop into a two-way prospect.

Campus Series-St. Bonaventure (July 11, 2017) 

Fairbrother stands in at 6-foot-2, 170-pounds with a lean athletic frame. Ran a 4.92 home to first, slightly off his previous best time of 4.71 set in July 2016. Offensively- Righty sets up square to the pitcher with his feet just outside his shoulders. Shows a slight knee bend with an upright torso. Holds the bat just below the back shoulder using little pre-pitch bat movement. On pitch, his trigger is a quick and simple step forward while his hands move back slightly into his hitting position. Has quick hands into the hitting zone with an upward lift barrel action throughout into a high two-handed finish. Utilizes good lower body rotation getting whole frame involved in swing. Shows a smooth fluid swing demonstrated in his batting practice round with gap to gap power potential. Recorded an exit velocity of 85 MPH, a 1 MPH improvement from his best recorded mark of 84 MPH set in February 2017. Defensively- Good approach and footwork getting in front of the baseball. Fielding mechanics are smooth with a good funnel into the chest and quick transition to the throwing position. Tends to double tap ball in glove prior to the through. Needs to be more aggressive with the footwork towards intended target to get rid of the ball quicker. Moves well left/right and fields smooth on the run. Recorded a positional arm velocity of 80 MPH, just shy of his previous best of 81 MPH set in February 2017. Pitching- Sets up in the middle of the rubber with a simple side step into a high leg kick above his hip crease. Good drive down with appropriate separation getting into a good throwing position with a mid-¾ release point. Utilizes whole body when throwing and repeats delivery on different pitches. Fastball sat 80-82 MPH and peaked at 83 MPH with cut action. Changeup has good arm side sink and sits 67-69 MPH. Slider shows a good break with tight spin and is 68-69 MPH.

Preseaon All-State (February 20, 2017)

Fairbrother stands at 6-foot-1, 160 pounds. Had a 60 yard dash time of 7.73 seconds, down from 8.05 seconds in March 2016. Offensively- Begins with feet very wide and knees slightly bent with an even stance. Hands are at back shoulder height with bat laid on his shoulder. Uses a small leg kick as hands load backwards. Hands work inside the ball with most contact made in front of body. Swing plane is flat throughout. Hips are rotational during the swing. Two handed finish just above front shoulder. Had an exit velocity of 84 MPH off of the tee, up from his previous best of 78 MPH. Defensively- Uses a small hop as a prep step. Approaches the ball with long strides. Fields ball with feet wide and slight bend at the knees. Fields ball underneath his body. Uses a double shuffle on throws.  Over the top arm action on throws of 81 MPH with a traditional ¾ arm slot; an impressive 9 MPH increase since July of 2016.

Western NY Prospect Preview (July 5, 2016)

Andrew is 5-foot-11, 145 pounds, at SS/3B. He improved his home to 1B time to 4.71. Offensively- Andrew begins with his feet shoulder width apart, with his front foot closed. His weight slightly shifted to his back leg. His hands are tight to his head with the bat at a 45 degree angle to the ground. Andrew hit the ball at an exit velocity of 78 MPH . Line drives with majority going right back up the middle. Defensively- Andrew starts with a hop step to get into a good position to read the ball. Controlled breakdown steps with a bit of an extended reach. Would like to see him improve the softness in his hands fielding the ball and gathering himself for the plays on the move. Arm strength of 72 MPH.

Futures Instructional (March 5, 2016)

Andrew is a lean 5-foot-11 145 pound left side infielder with room for physical gains. He a ran a 8.05 60 and a 4.75 home-to-1B. Offensively- Andrew sets up in a narrow but even stance, using a slight coil of the bat for a load with a knee drive leg kick for a stride. Stays behind the ball well with an aggressive back foot/hip rotation. Stays inside contact with moderate extension through the zone. Line drive results with a peak exit velocity of 76 MPH, up 8 MPH from December. Defensively- Andrew uses his prep steps to create proper angles into his fielding position. Clean transfer from glove to hand with his shuffle step gaining ground and momentum into his throw. Arm strength peaked at 71 MPH.

WNY Pro Holiday Clinic (December 19, 2015)

The 2019 infielder stands 5’9 130 pounds. Offensively- At the plate he sets up low and compact.  During load he uses a small back to front leg kick and little movement with the hands.  He had consistent level bat path with a 2 hand finish.  The swing was sound but could definitely see some more pop with a little more separation and rhythm up top. Defensively- In the field he approached the ball well and fielded everything out in front.  He’s got a loose slightly below ¾ arm slot.  The young infielder showed good tools at the holiday clinic and should continue to improve over the next few years.