Written by Greg Fertel
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14 February 2008
- Age: 25
- Height: 6?4?
- Weight: 195 lbs
- Position: Starting Pitcher
- Throws: Right
Scouting Report: Alan Horne has a power arm, throwing 92-95 mph with his 4-seam fastball. On top of that, Horne posses a plus power curveball. He also throws an effective slider and changeup. Hes always had decent command of his fastball, but has only recently been able to throw his other pitches for strikes, which has been the catalyst of his success this year.
History: Horne was ranked by some as the top high school pitcher in the 2001 draft, but fell to the Cleveland Indians at #27 due to signability concerns. He opted for college and went to Mississippi, where he pitched well enough to be ranked among the top sophomores in the nation. Then, disaster happened. Horne blew out his elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2003, cutting him out of what could have been a high 1st round draft pick. He transfered to Florida and began to work his way back. Word spread around that he was throwing low 90s to high 80s, and his stock fell. By the time the 2005 draft rolled along, the still-recovering Horne fell to the 11th round. The Yankees picked him up, offered him a 6-figure, and he signed after the minor league season had begun. He spent all of 2006 in Tampa, where he regained his velocity but not his control. His final line was 125 2/3 innings, 126 K, 63 BB, and a 4.84 ERA. Horne steadily improved his control from 5.76 BB/9 in April to 2.52 BB/9 in August. Horne was sent to Trenton to begin 2007.
This Season: Named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Year, Horne had one hell of a year. He pitched 153 1/3 innings, with a 3.11 ERA, 9.68 K/9, 3.35 BB/9, and 0.59 HR/9. There's actually not a whole lot more to say - Horne tired a little toward the end of the season, but was pretty steady month-to-month, although it should be noted that his control gradually got worse each month. He piled up his high strikeout total with consistent 6-8 K outings, with few bad nights. He suffered from a sky-high .340 BABIP, so the ERA and hit total (8.75 per 9) are inflated.
Outlook and Movement: Ideally, Horne would be the first pitcher called up to the major leagues in 2008. He's easily the most MLB-ready, has the best stuff, and overall deserves to be there. However, Horne is not on the 40-man roster (and Igawa, Wright, White, Marquez, and Karestens all are), so I wouldn't expect to see him for awhile. The Yankee 40-man is going to have to be trimmed down significantly this season. I'd wager that Horne will replace one of Karstens, Henn, Wright or Veras by September. Of course, Alan Horne could easily force a major league promotion quickly by duplicating his 2007 statistics. All it takes is an injury.
Ranking: I had Horne at #6, Eric had him at #4, and Ashish split the difference at #5. Jeff Marquez has a ton of value because he's MLB-ready and has decent stuff, but Horne is on another level. He's not only MLB-ready, but also with a pretty solid ceiling. He could probably put together the season that Daisuke Matsuzaka would have pitched in 2007 had he allowed fewer home runs - lots of strikeouts, lots of innings, and slightly more walks than the average. He doesn't quite have the ceiling of the Big Three, but there are a lot of organizations out there who would love to have Alan Horne as their top pitching prospect. The only thing that worries me a little bit is the progressively worse control month-to-month in 2007: 1.66 BB/9 in April, 2.31 in May, 3.58 in June, 4.21 in July, and 5.40 in August. Not a good trend line.
