If you stack up a draft class by looking at bonus amounts, fifth-round pick Bailey Horn was the third best player in the White Sox draft class. The MLB draft is unique in this instance and sometimes tough to follow for casual fans.
Teams are allotted a bonus pool to use for the entire draft class. The White Sox went way over-slot in the second round to draft righty Jared Kelley and because of that, they were forced to go heavily under-slot with their selections in rounds three, four and five.
Horn, a left-handed pitcher, was selected with the 142nd overall pick to close out the draft for the Pale Hose on June 11.
The 6-foot-2, 212-pound southpaw was the Sunday starter for the Auburn Tigers in 2020. Horn only made four appearances before the shut down, but he posted a 3-1 record with a 2.08 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 17.1 innings.
The 22-year-old redshirt junior also pitched in 18 games with Auburn in 2019. Horn struggled in 37.2 innings, posting a 5.97 ERA and compiling 31 strikeouts and 20 walks.
Horn underwent arm surgery in 2018 while pitching for McLennan Community College. He threw four innings in one contest and struck out 7 without allowing an earned run.
Horn hails from Waco, Texas and attended McLennan in 2017 and 2018. He missed the majority of his sophomore season before transferring to Auburn, but he was pretty solid as a freshman. In 17 games, the left-hander posted a 3.86 ERA with 77 strikeouts and 34 walks in 77 innings.
Mike Shirley is the first-year White Sox amateur scouting director who pulled the trigger on Horn.
“He’s got a lot of things that we valued. Big, power arm, left-handed, great fastball-breaking ball mix,” Shirley said.
The White Sox also really valued Horn’s makeup, SEC pedigree and competitive edge. Shirley also noted that Horn was still coming back post-surgery, but still noticed an uptick in stuff overall.
“He’s been up to 95 with that fastball and it’s got good vertical carry,” he said. “We also really liked his makeup being a junior college pitcher and going through that grind to having success at Auburn.”
Horn’s stuff may ultimately improve in short stints and he could be effective in a bullpen role in the future. Shirley thinks that the lefty deserves the opportunity to start in the rotation though and that’s how he’ll begin his career as a professional.
“He’s going to get a chance to solidify himself as a starter, but his intangibles and how he uses his stuff is only going to move him forward quickly,” Shirley said.
Some footage courtesy of DraftNastyNetwork:
Bailey Horn meeting the media after a game against Chicago State in March:
Horn is now officially a member of the Chicago White Sox organization. In a typical year, he’d likely report to Great Falls to finish out his season with the goal of pitching full season ball in 2021. With the state of the minor leagues in flux currently, Horn’s immediate assignment is a bit of an unknown. He will continue to workout and wait for further instructions from the club. Horn could be a member of the rotation at Low-A Kannapolis in 2021.
Photo credit: Dylan Baker/Auburn Athletics
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