Horne to Avoid Surgery

Quick update on Alan Horne. According to Mike Ashmore and reported in the Trentonian, Yankee pitching prospect Alan Horne has decided to go the route of rehabbing rather than surgery for his rotator cuff injury using Platelet-Rich Plasma treatments (PRP). Yes the same one used by Xavier Nady, Jose Reyes, and Alex Rodriguez. Here's part of the story:

Horne, who was scheduled to have an 80 percent tear of the rotator cuff in his right pitching arm by Dr. James Andrews, confirmed via text message that he and Andrews have elected to try a rehab program with Platelet-Rich Plasma treatments, more commonly known as PRP.

“It’s pretty cool stuff,” said Horne of the cutting-edge procedure, “but (I’m in) in the worst pain I’ve ever been in in my life.”

In the process, blood is taken out of the body, and spun in a centrifuge to separate the platelets, which are then injected back into the affected area of the body. It is believed the active platelets release healing proteins that accelerate tissue and wound healing."

Hopefully he will stay out of Canada!

Horne To Miss Entire 2010 Season

After a great 2007 season that saw him go 12-4, with a 3.11 ERA, Alan Horne was thought of very highly in the Yankees system. Since then things have not gone well for the right-hander, and now things just got worse.

According to Patrick Teale of Pinstripes Plus (hat-tip to Bronx Baseball Daily), Horne will miss the entire 2010 season because he needs surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. Injuries are nothing new for Horne, whose pitched in just 25 games the last two seasons. I have to agree with Rob from BBD when he says,

At this point you have to wonder if he’s finished within the Yankees organization. He’s already recovering from shoulder surgery and another one makes it even less likely that he can ever become 100 percent healthy and able to pitch again.

It's amazing how quickly these prospects can go from a step away from the majors, to somebody we'll never hear from again, but injuries will quickly kill a career. I hope he can recover and get back to where he was in 2007, but it's not likely.

Another Alan Horne Update From Chad Jennings

Earlier this month Jennings reported that Horne's rehab was progressing nicely, and he was up to 50 throws from 120 feet and expected to be throwing off a mound soon.

Yesterday, he posted another update, this time telling us that Horne had been taken off his rehab schedule and has begun his normal offseason throwing program.

Horne said he's gotten back into the regular throwing program early enough that he hasn't lost much ground.

"I'm right on schedule with the other guys," he said in a text message. "Max a week behind."

Jennings also points out that with the recent trade of Chase Wright, the chances that Horne will open the year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre probably just went up.

Alan Horne Update

Alan Horne has been recovering from a slight tear in his rotator cuff. Here's an update from Chad Jennings:

Horne said his right shoulder is "doin great" and that his rehab is progressing nicely. He's up to 50 throws from 120 feet and said he expects to be throwing off a mound soon. I didn't ask if he knows where the Yankees expect him to start the season -- I doubt he knows -- but based on their handling of Mark Melancon and J.B. Cox, I'm betting Horne opens in Tampa or extended spring because of the weather. I realize he didn't go through the same surgery as Melancon or Cox, but still, shoulder surgery on a pitcher won't be taken lightly in an organization as cautious as the Yankees.

Jennings also has an update on Chase Wright.

Horne On The Comeback Trail

From the Jackson County Floridian (hat tip to WasWatching.com):

Former Marianna High School and Chipola pitcher Alan Horne left home for Tampa Monday in preparation of yet another spring training.

This year’s camp, the New York Yankees farmhand hopes, will be the last he attends as a minor leaguer.

Horne, 26, suffered a slight tear in his rotator cuff, which resulted in a sharp decline in his production and eventually a demotion to Single-A Tampa.

“It was definitely frustrating,” Horne said of his injury problems in 2008. “When you’re as close as I was to pitching in the majors, close to being one of the first guys called up, it’s tough.

“It will be something to drive me to get back to where I was before the injury. The rest will take care of itself.”

At the end of the 2008 season, Horne saw renowned orthopedic surgeon James Andrews, famous for performing surgical procedures on the elbows and shoulders of various Major League pitchers, and underwent what Horne termed “a clean-up surgery.”

“The tear was causing my shoulder to bind up really bad, so he cleaned it up so it would work a little better,” he said. “It feels good so far.”

Horne couldn’t throw for three months following the surgery, but since resuming his workouts in early December, he has had no complaints.

“I feel great so far. I’ve been real pleased with how the rehab’s gone,” he said. “I feel no pain so far. I feel like I’ve got the problem fixed and I can continue to move forward toward my ultimate goal, which is pitching in the big leagues.”

“(The injury) was a big struggle for me,” he said. “It wasn’t a huge pain, it was just pretty uncomfortable. My arm wasn’t working like it was supposed to work and it just wasn’t allowing me to extend a long way.

“It took more effort to be able to throw. I was having to work a lot harder to do things I normally do without a problem. Towards the end of the season, my stuff started deteriorating.”

“I feel pretty confident knowing now that there was something wrong last year, something we didn’t know for a long time,” he said. “Now we’ve got a finger on it and fixed it.

Horne also said he hopes he will be throwing off a mound by early February, and try to be ready for minor league spring training, which begins on Mar. 7.

(Speaking of which, Chad Jennings just posted the minor league spring training schedule yesterday, you can check it out here.)

In last year's Baseball America Prospect Handbook Horne was the ranked as the Yankees fifth best prospect. Saying "he throws his fastball that sits at 92-93 MPH buy also can park at 94-95." And that he "flashes a power slider and curveball, and he throws his changeup with good arm speed." They also said he had "frontline stuff."

On the negative side, this isn't the first time he's had arm issues. He already had Tommy John surgery to go along with his injury-filled 2008 campaign. But if he can stay healthy there is definitely a chance he can regain the form that got him to be one of the top pitchers in the Yankees system.

Horne's Rehab Progressing Smoothly

Pending Pinstripes is reporting that according to his father Bill, Alan's rehab is progressing, and he's thrown off the mound for the first time. He recently threw a 25-pitch bullpen session, only throwing fastballs, and did not report any discomfort.

He will throw off the mound again on Wednesday, and he is working on getting his mechanics back to where he wants them to be. Horne is probably still a few weeks away from being all the way back, but it is encouraging to see that he has not had any setbacks as of yet.

Horne to Begin Throwing This Week

From Chad Jennings (hat tip to River Ave. Blues):

Contreras said that the Yankees decided to keep Alan Horne inactive for 14 days starting the day after his injury. After two weeks of not throwing, he'll begin a program to build back his strength. "We are very conservative," Contreras said.

Horne suffered a partial right bicep tear on the 10th so he'll begin throwing at the end of this week.

Horne Injury Not Long-Term

Alan Horne was removed in the 2nd inning of last night AAA SWB game after two innings with an arm injury. Luckily for the Yanks the injury is not as severe as people first thought.

From Tyler Kepner:

Horne had a magnetic resonance imaging exam and was found to have a strained biceps muscle. He will report to Tampa and be shut down for a week, but the Yankees are not concerned about long-term damage to Horne, who had reconstructive elbow surgery in college.

“It’s not a rotator cuff, not a labrum, not a medial collateral ligament – it’s none of the stuff that concerns you as a long-term issue,” said Mark Newman, the senior vice president for player personnel. “It’s a pulled muscle – not connective tissue, not the stuff that causes problems.”

This is very good news for the Yankees and Horne.