Trade With the Yankees in the Works?

[reds44]

Trent put this on his blog.



Hey guys, just throwing this out, something I've heard about, but... keep the name Alan Horne in the back of your mind. Horne is considered a prospect, so not sure I'd expect him to be had for a bit player, but more for someone big. -- ctr

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Alan%2520Horne&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=458951

Looks like an interesting prospect. I love his K rate. I wonder who we would give up for him. Would it have to be more then Hatteberg? With Trent mentioning "someone big" I think it would have to be more then that.

[captainmorgan07]

very intersting could hatte be on the move

[reds44]

very intersting could hatte be on the move
That was the first name that came to my mind, but Trent confused me alittle with his big comment. If it is Hatterberg or even Weathers then I like the deal, but I would want more for Dunn.

[IamWallaman]

We know they want bullpen help and a 1B...

Maybe Weathers?

I heard someone say Weathers AND Hatte... not sure I dig that... but it could be worse. This is a decent prospect afterall.

[reds44]

Horne's BABIP is .345 (pretty unlucky) and he still has a really good ERA (2.39). At 6'4, he has good size, he has a great K rate (98 in 86 innings), doesn't walk alot of guys (23) and has only given up 2 homers this year.

My only question would be, at 24, why is he still in AA?

[uoduck1017]

My only question would be, at 24, why is he still in AA?

I wondered that too. Maybe he had an injury or something that set him back?

[reds44]

I wondered that too. Maybe he had an injury or something that set him back?
I thought of a couple things. First off, he attended Florida for all four years. That puts him at about 22 when he entered the Yankees system. The other thing is, the Yankees could be keeping him in AA to boost his trade value. They are letting him put up great numbers in AA instead of promotiong him and taking the chance he intially struggles in AAA and lowers his value.

One of the things I like about him is he is always improving. When you look at his numbers in April, May, and June they have gotten better every month. When you compare his numbers last year in High A, to this year in AA they have gotten better too. That tells me he is developing well and is a hard worker.

[uoduck1017]

That makes a lot of sense. It would be nice if the Reds were able to get him for someone other than Dunn or Griffey.

[uoduck1017]

He's had TJ surgery, which might help explain both the control issues and his age at AA.

This was reported by blumj on The Old Red Guard.

[reds44]

blumj in the ORG said Horne had TJ surgery, which could be another reason why he is 24 and in AA.

[reds44]

Prospect Profile: Alan Horne
Name: William Alan Horne
Position: RHP
Vitals: 6'4", 195 lbs
Born: January 5th, 1983
Hometown: Marianna, Florida
Drafted: 11th round (349th overall) in 2005 (Yankees 11th selection). Recieved a $400,000 bonus.

Background: As John Manual of Baseball America puts it in the 2006 Prospect Handbook, "Horne has lived a baseball lifetime." Drafted in the first round out of high school by the Indians in 2001, Horne was selected ahead of current big leaguers Noah Lowry, David Wright, JJ Hardy and Danny Haren. He opted not to sign and instead went to the University of Mississippi where he has a solid freshman season only to succomb to Tommy John surgery and take a medical redshirt his sophmore year. Horne then transferred to his local Chipola Junior College (Marianna, Fl) for his junior year and was drafted in the 30th round of the 2004 draft by the Angels. Horne bypassed a reported six-figure bonus to attend the University of Florida, his third college in 4 years. After helping the Gators to the College World Series Finals, Horne considered returning to Florida as a fifth year senior, but turned pro after the the Yankees pursuaded him with third round bonus money.

Strengths: Horne is a mature pitcher that knows how to get outs on days he doesn't feature his best stuff. His best offering a a heavy 92-95 mph fastball that he does a good job of keeping in the bottom third of the zone. He works off his fastball with a hammer curveball that bites hard and down in the zone. Horne's curve can be unhittable if he's getting it over the plate consistently. He learned a cut fastball from Chipola JC pitching coach Jeff Johnson (a long-time family friend), and can now throw it for strikes on a consistent basis.

Weaknesses: Horne's health hasn't been perfect; in addition to Tommy John surgery, he also missed all but 1 start of Florida's CWS run with a hamstring injury. His changeup is rudimentary and needs improvement if it's going to become reliable. He's improving his ability to throw strikes, but he still has plenty of room for improvement with his control (4.37 BBper9 at Florida). Horne also needs to continue to smooth out his mechanics and work on his ability to hold runners.

Comparison: Despite all his travels, Horne has yet to make his pro debut. He attended the Yankees fall minicamp after signing and was impressive. With no pro stats to look at, I thought I'd compare Horne's perfomance in his final college year to that of another Yankees' prospect who'll be knocking on the door to the Bronx within the year:

ERA Hper9 HRper9 BBper9 Kper9 WHIP
Jeff Karstens 4.29 10.00 1.57 2.00 5.57 1.33
Horne 4.05 9.69 .56 4.37 8.58 1.56

Horne is the classic example of a guy who's stuff is better than his numbers show (read Bonderman, Jeremy circa 2003 or Burnett, AJ circa 1999-present). His numbers are solid, but nothing jumps out at you, except the relatively high amount of walks.

Outlook: Horne figures to make his pro debut at either Low-A Charleston or High-A Tampa; his spring performance will dictate his destination to start 2006. If he gets his control together and gets his changeup to where it's a consistent offspeed pitch, Horne's upside would be tremendous (he is a former first round pick remember). The Yankees will keep him as a starter, which is for the best in the long term, but the feeling here is that Horne would absolutely blow through the system if he was used out of the bullpen. He'll be expected to climb the ladder quickly, and could see regular big league time as soon as Opening Day 2008.

From Wednesday's ESPN.com chat with Jim Callis of Baseball America:

Mike A. (Chico, CA): Hey Jim, thanks for taking our questions. Was Alan Horne an 11th round steal for the Yanks, even though they gave him 3rd round money? Has his stuff declined since he was a first rounder in 2001? Thanks as always
Jim Callis: What's money to the Yankees? Horne might be a steal. His stuff hasn't really declined, but he hasn't gotten much better since he went in the first round. Some scouts think that could turn out well for the Yankees, while others question how competitive Horne truly is.

[Blue]

I think when CTR said "something big" he meant "Not Victor Santos".

[mbgrayson]

More on Horne from the 2007 BA prospect handbook:
Yankees Prospect 16. Alan Horne.
"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 1st round pick (Indians, 27th overall), out of Marianna High School in FLorida's panhandle. ...Horne embarked on a college career that began in Mississippi, was interupted by Tommy John surgery, detoured to Chipola 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 pitchers 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 change-up last year and made progress with the pitch, Horne is a high risk, high reward prospect. He'll head to AA hoping to build on his late season momentum."