There was little surprise when the New York Mets selected Kurtis Horne on the third day of Major League Baseball’s first-year player draft on Saturday.
The suspense was gone as Horne’s advisor had texted him to tell him in the 29th round that the Mets planned to select the left-handed pitcher very soon. And sure enough, in the 31st round, they did just that, grabbing the Langley Blaze southpaw.
“It has been my dream since I started playing baseball,” said Horne, a six-foot-five, 195-pound pitcher, about getting drafted and potentially one day playing professionally.
He turns 18 in the beginning of August.
Now comes the hard part: accepting what the Mets offer to turn pro or going to New Mexico Junior College for at least one season. Junior college players are eligible every year in the draft.
“I am stuck right now on what I should do,” he admitted.
“I know I can get better with a year of experience at school.”
Horne is in his first season with Langley, albeit in a limited role.
He has pitched twice this season — he missed the majority of April and May while playing for Canada’s junior national team program — and is 1-0 with a 1.07 earned run average. He has eight strikeouts in 13 innings.
Horne, who is from Sooke, played for the Victoria Eagles in 2013, going 3-1 with a 2.00 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 35 innings.
Horne describes himself as a fastball dominant pitcher, with a decent off-speed pitch.
