Alan Horne
| IP | 208 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 5.365 |
| WHIP | 1.49 |
| BB/9 | 4.716 |
| SO/9 | 8.091 |
- Full name William Alan Horne
- Born 01/05/1983 in Marianna, FL
- Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 195 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Florida
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Drafted in the 11th round (349th overall) by the New York Yankees in 2005 (signed for $400,000).
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If Horne wants to play pro ball, the time is now. He's lived a baseball lifetime since he played with Angels prospect Jeff Mathis back in high school. Horne was a first-round pick in 2001 but didn't sign with the Indians, attending Mississippi instead. After a solid freshman year, Horne hurt his elbow early in his sophomore year and had Tommy John surgery, taking a medical redshirt. He then transferred in December 2003 to Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, where his father had played and where he had known the coach, Jeff Johnson, since he was young. Johnson helped Horne develop a cut fastball that he could throw consistently for strikes, a pitch he honed at Florida after he transferred. Horne turned down six-figure offers from the Angels to go to Florida and was throwing better and better as the spring progressed, sitting in the 88-93 mph range with his fastball. He's also learned to compete better and has improved his approach to pitching. Still, Horne doesn't pound the strike zone and can run up high pitch counts, making him more of a back-of-the-rotation starter.
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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Horne was left off the Yankees' 40-man roster after a trying season that resulted in August surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. He began throwing again in early December and was expected to be ready for spring training. A healthy Horne would be a boost for the Yankees, whose upper-level starting pitching has thinned with graduations to the majors and attrition. Horne has been on the radar a long time, first coming to national prominence in 2001, when the Indians made him a first-round pick. His college career included three schools--Mississippi, Chipola (Fla.) JC and Florida--one Tommy John surgery and a trip to the 2005 College World Series. He seemed on the cusp of the majors after leading the Eastern League in ERA (3.11) and strikeouts (165 in 153 innings) in 2007, but he left his second start of 2008 with biceps pain. He came back briefly in June before his arm started bothering him again. Horne had shown four plus pitches at times in 2007, including a 92-93 mph fastball that peaked at 95, a power slider, a hard curveball and a surprisingly effective changeup. However, his long arm action in the back of his delivery always has concerned scouts as an injury risk and an obstacle to good command. Now 26, Horne is coming off a lost season and his second major arm surgery as he returns to Triple-A. -
Horne was a first-round pick out of Marianna (Fla.) High in 2001, when he was a teammate of Angels catcher Jeff Mathis. He turned down the Indians and embarked on a three-stop college career, pitching for Mississippi, Chipola (Fla.) Junior College (where his dad played) and Florida, which he helped lead to the 2005 College World Series finals. He had Tommy John surgery along the way but has stayed healthy as a pro, leading the EL in ERA (3.11) and strikeouts (165 in 153 innings) in 2007. At times, Horne shows four above-average pitches, starting with a fastball that usually sits at 92-93 mph but also can park at 94-95. He flashes a power slider and curveball, and he throws his changeup with good arm speed. Horne's arm action is long, leading to inconsistent release points and below-average command, and it likely contributed to his past elbow injury. The Yankees have shortened his delivery in other ways to compensate, but it's not a correctable flaw and limits Horne's ceiling. He doesn't field his position or hold runners particularly well. While he has frontline stuff, Horne's command issues relegate him to a No. 3 or 4 starter profile. He'll head to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for 2008 but give the Yankees another homegrown starter soon thereafter. -
Horne jumped straight to high Class A in his pro debut. While he needed a couple of months to adjust, the Yankees are encouraged by the progress of this highly-regarded arm. He was a 2001 first-round pick (Indians, 27th overall) out of Marianna High in Florida's panhandle, where he was a teammate of Angels catcher Jeff Mathis. While Mathis signed that year, Horne embarked on a college career that began at Mississippi, was interrupted by Tommy John surgery, detoured to Chipola (Fla.) JC and wound up at Florida. He helped pitch the Gators to the 2005 College World Series before signing for $400,000. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Horne has an ideal pitcher's frame. When he stays direct to the plate and doesn't over-rotate, he keeps his delivery shorter and more repeatable. Then he can throw strikes with two plus pitches, a 92-96 mph fastball and a curveball that at times has good depth. He worked on a changeup last year and made progress with the pitch. Horne is a high-risk, high-reward prospect. He'll head to Double-A hoping to build on his late-season momentum. -
Horne has lived a baseball lifetime since he played with Angels prospect Jeff Mathis in high school--and he still has yet to make his pro debut. Horne was a first-round pick in 2001 but didn't sign with the Indians, attending Mississippi instead. After a solid freshman year in 2002, Horne hurt his elbow early in his sophomore year and had Tommy John surgery, taking a medical redshirt. He then transferred to Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, where his father had played and where he had known the coach, Jeff Johnson, since he was young. Johnson helped Horne develop a cut fastball that he could throw consistently for strikes. The Angels took Horne in the 30th round of the 2004 draft, but he turned down six-figure offers to go to Florida. He threw better as the spring progressed, sitting at 88-93 mph with his fastball. He also learned to compete better and improved his approach to pitching. Horne made only one start in the College World Series and injured his left hamstring. He flirted with returning to Florida as a fifth-year senior, but signed for $400,000 and attended the Yankees' fall minicamp. He impressed club officials with his stuff--his fastball was up to 92-95 mph--and mature demeanor. Horne's progress will depend on his health and control of his secondary pitches, which include a curveball that showed improved bite down in the zone in minicamp, and a changeup. He could make his pro debut in high Class A with a strong spring.
Minor League Top Prospects
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For the first time in his winding career, Horne pitched like the first-round pick he was back in 2001, when the Indians failed to sign him out of high school. After having Tommy John surgery at Mississippi and helping lead Florida to the 2005 College World Series, he put it all together as Trenton's most consistent starter. He stayed healthy and made every turn in the rotation, key reasons why he led the league in ERA (3.11) and strikeouts (165 in 153 innings). One AL scout who saw Horne several times saw four plus pitches: a 94-95 mph fastball, sliders and curveballs thrown with power and depth, and a surprising changeup that helped him shut down lefthanders. The biggest caveat with Horne is a long arm action that has helped lead to injury breakdowns in the past as well as lapses in control.
