Alan Horne's Breakout?

by Stephcaflowne on May 13, 2007 3:20 PM EDT

Most of you probably know this guy's story. He was drafted in the first round out of high school by the Cleveland Indians but opted for college. In his sophomore year, he had to have TJ surgery and he didn't really look the same after it. He had a good, but not great junior year at Florida (4.05 ERA, 108/55 K/BB in 113.1 IP) and was drafted again, this time by the Yankees, in the 11th round.

Last season, he posted a very mediocre 4.84 ERA in High-A Tampa, mostly because of shaky control. He struck out 122 in 122.2 IP but also walked 61.

The Yankees' plan was to have him repeat the Florida State League but he impressed them enough in spring training to earn the promotion to AA-Trenton. After his start today (6-IP, 4-H, 0-ER, 8/2-K/BB, 9/1-GO/FO), he now has a 2.66 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 40.1 IP and only 9 walks. He's also getting a lot more groundouts lately (1.85 GO/FO). He's still got good stuff with a lively fastball. Control was the main thing holding him back and so far, it looks like he might have straightened it out.

He's got a pretty high ceiling if he can keep it together. What do you think: legitimate breakout or early-season fluke? I was a disbeliever for a long time but he's starting to win me over.

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Off to a good start; how hard is he throwing...

nowadays?

Hello Stephcaflowne,

Thanks for the info. - greatly appreciated!

Just curious - is he hitting low-90s or is he hitting mid-90s? I know when the Indians drafted him, he could hit the low- to mid-90s with his fastball, but still needed some refinement on his secondary pitches.

Being that he is already 24-YO, he'll have to keep progressing at a fairly rapid pace to have a realistic shot of making an impact in the Majors, especially as a starter, but is off to a great start to doing that in 2007.

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Take care and have a great day!

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on May 13, 2007 6:35 PM EDT reply actions

well

according to BA's 07 book:

"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"

from scout.com - http://yankees.scout.com/2/609849.html

"Horne threw mostly four-seam baseball in the beginning of the year, in the 92-94 mph range, topping out at 95-96"

"He made huge strides with his plus curveball last season"

by PooNani on May 13, 2007 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Seems Like A Legit Breakout

Kinda reminds me of David Purcey actually - but Horne's numbers are better. There's really no flaw in Horne's numbers - and he's leading the EL in strikeouts...the Yanks aren't short on pitching prospects but he could be another good one...

Gorkys Hernandez is my new favorite player (my tribute to VTTigers)

by Dfarth on May 13, 2007 7:01 PM EDT reply actions

Sounds like a...

...Jeff Manship situation. Manship is a real prospect, so no reason why this guy shouldn't be.

No dude, Metsin07

by uga007 on May 13, 2007 7:12 PM EDT reply actions

Horne

has definitely has made some strides with his control no question. That said, he is 24 years old in Double A. Nevertheless, with the stuff he has, I wouldn't be surprise he becomes three things: If he pitches like this and improves on his game, I wouldn't be surprise to see him in Triple A by Late June or early July, and makes some starts for the yankees in August or september. Becomes a big time reliever for the yankees. His FB/CB combo is sick and can become a huge help to the yankees short and long term. Or he can become trade bait. The yankees are deep in pitching, and will probably get deeper this year with the upcomming draft. Horne has legit front rotation stuff, and so far he's putting it together, if he can improve even more, there is no question he will have a bright future.

by NYYLover1000 on May 13, 2007 7:30 PM EDT reply actions