Mac Horvath Perfectly Fits One Of Orioles’ Preferred Draft Types
Give the Orioles a Day One draft pick, and more often than not they’ll use it on an athletic college position player who hits the ball hard and controls the strike zone.
That’s the profile they like to cultivate with their progressive hitting program.
Early returns on second baseman Mac Horvath, the club’s 2023 second-rounder out of North Carolina, are promising.
The righthanded-hitting Horvath finished his pro debut at High-A Aberdeen. At three levels he hit .321/.455/.603 with five home runs and 19 walks against 26 strikeouts in 22 games.
And like many Orioles prospects first getting into the system, he found a hitting program with myriad ways to help him improve.
“That’s one thing I really like here,” Horvath said, “not being scared to just go after it. And if you fail, it’s a good thing, because you’re going to learn from it.”
Horvath walked at a higher rate in pro ball than he did with the Tar Heels—19.2% against 14.3% as a junior—and credits how the Orioles train hitters for helping that along.
He particularly enjoyed the challenging pregame drill work, with mixed batting practice from close range helping to hone an already-strong batting eye.
“(Mixed BP) can get frustrating, but I really feel like in the game I feel more prepared,” Horvath said.
“It’s super hard—they’re 40 feet away, so now it’s 60 feet in the actual game and makes it maybe a little more easier to pick up a pitch earlier. I think if you continue to do that, it makes the game a lot easier.”
The Orioles envision Horvath, who was drafted as an outfielder, moving between second base and third base while potentially seeing some corner outfield time in 2024. He is expected to start back at Aberdeen.
While Baltimore’s elite farm system has much of its top talent concentrated at the upper levels, Horvath represents part of the next wave aiming to sustain that.
