Horvath's skill set evident in brief time at IMG Academy

Dan Simonds didn’t need consecutive years to form an opinion on Mac Horvath. He didn’t even need a full season.

The relatively brief amount of time that Horvath spent at IMG Academy in Florida revealed traits that made him special. Intangibles that Simonds knew would separate Horvath from a talented group of players.

The total package prompted the Orioles to draft Horvath in the second round last week out of the University of North Carolina. Maybe a little higher than Simonds imagined before Horvath walked onto the Chapel Hill campus, but understandable based on the projections.

Simonds has spent 10 years at IMG Academy and oversees the entire operation as Baseball Director, including camps that run throughout the summer, winter and spring, and the professional training at the Bradenton facility. Horvath transferred from Century High School in Minnesota for his senior year.

In the fall of 2019. Before the world shut down early in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

Horvath’s timing is much better at the plate, but he did play on the national team, “which is a very high-end club that we have here,” Simonds said.

“It’s professional prospects, kids going to power 5 schools. It’s some of the better players in the country, to give you some perspective. From his year, I think there were eight kids who were drafted off that team. He had some classmates who were just recently drafted from that team.”

Outfielder James Wood was the Padres’ second-round pick in 2021 who signed well above slot, was involved in the Juan Soto trade in August 2022 and became the Nationals’ No. 1 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. The Dodgers selected infielder Jake Gelof 60^th overall this week out of the University of Virginia.

Horvath and Gelof are counted among nine former or current IMG Academy players chosen in this year’s draft. Horvath played third base and the outfield with the Tar Heels and this season became the first ACC player since 1999 with at least 20 doubles, 20 home runs and 20 steals.

Simonds remembers Horvath as much for what he did away from his shortstop position.

“Just an intense competitor,” Simonds said. “Very, very solid teammate. Made the transition and really became a leader of that team right away. And that’s not an easy thing to do, right? You’re transitioning in for your senior year. But that’s the thing that jumped out at me during the time that he was here.

“He was a little nicked up when he first got here in the fall. He had minor back issues and (an illness). But the one thing that really jumped out at me was the competitiveness that he had, the work ethic, how he went about his preparation on a daily basis. In the weight room, on the field, taking advantage of the resources here. That was the one thing, for a short amount of time, that was really, really strong.”

Simonds believed that Horvath could be a drafted within five rounds after leaving IMG Academy.

“Just when you looked at the pure athleticism and the blue-collar approach that he took to the game,” Simonds said. “Did I think he would have the success that he did in terms of power numbers and everything that he produced at Carolina? No. But just a super athletic kid that you really believed that as a senior in high school he was just scratching the surface. When you looked at his skill set and you saw the intangibles, I think that was the big thing. That he was prepared for doing something pretty good.

“Even the time that he was here, you saw the progress that he was making, simply by the fact that he really, really worked at it, really took advantage of the resources. So, you felt like with him going to an ACC school, he was certainly going to contribute and had an opportunity to do something special in the three years that he was there. When I talk about the athleticism, I think he led in pretty much every category with our weight room metrics, our strength and conditioning metrics. So, whether that’s speed, whether that’s power, force plate, all those things, he was, if not No. 1, he was very close to the top.”

Baseball America’s scouting report on Horvath graded him as a plus runner with a plus arm, and ranked him as the No. 91 prospect in the draft. MLB Pipeline had him 82^nd.

The speed stood out to Simonds.

“We certainly could see that,” he said.

“Our only regret was we only had a chance to see him in about 22-23 at-bats before the season got cut short. Even early on in the first part of the season, you could definitely see there were some special, special tools there. And there were only five (draft) rounds that year. It would have been interesting to see if he did put together a full season, could he have potentially been taken out of high school, because he had the skill set for that.”

Baseball America noted some “mechanical questions” with Horvath’s swing, which didn’t prevent him from slashing .305/.418/.711 with 21 doubles, two triples, 24 home runs, 66 RBIs and 73 runs scored as a junior. He drew 43 walks and stole 25 bases in 60 games.

“It’s all about player development,” Simonds said. “I know the Orioles are very, very strong there, and I think he’ll flourish in that system. And I hope he does.”

Simonds has Orioles roots that now attach him more tightly to Horvath.

They selected him in the seventh round of the 1987 draft out of Davidson College, where he was a catcher. He made it as far as Double-A Hagerstown, but reached Triple-A Iowa in the Cubs system in 1991, his final year as a player.

“I was fortunate enough to be in that organization back when Cal (Ripken) Sr. was coaching in it, and Lance Nichols, and I could go right down the line with some of the old school guys,” Simonds said. “But I know it’s a great, great organization when it comes to development. That’s for sure. They have a long history for developing top talent.”

It’s just done in a much different manner in 2023. Old school is out. Modern is in.

“Back in ’87, you didn’t have what they have now, the technology and the metrics and the analytics that they base so much on today,” Simonds said. “But when it’s all said and done, it’s still about getting guys better, it’s still about getting them to work and developing their skill set.”