Fastball

Baltimore Orioles Sign 2nd Round Pick Mac Horvath Below Slot Value

The North Carolina slugger went No. 53 overall in last week's MLB Draft, and he capitalized by signing a $1.4 million contract on Monday.

Sam Connon

Baltimore Orioles Sign 2nd Round Pick Mac Horvath Below Slot Value
Baltimore Orioles Sign 2nd Round Pick Mac Horvath Below Slot Value /
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The Baltimore Orioles have signed North Carolina outfielder/third baseman Mac Horvath, the team announced Monday evening. Horvath, who the Orioles selected in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft at No. 53 overall, is the first signing the club has announced thus far.

Horvath's signing bonus is $1.4 million, according to The Baltimore Banner's Andy Kostka. The slot value for Horvath was $1.58 million, freeing up some cash for the Orioles to spend on some of their other picks from last week.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound prospect was ranked No. 82 in his draft class by MLB.com.

Horvath steadily improved over the course of his three years with the Tar Heels, initially hitting .227 with five home runs, 22 RBI and a .698 OPS his freshman year. The following season, Horvath bumped his batting average to .268 and his OPS to .947, all while hitting 18 homers, driving in 53 runs and stealing 19 bases.

After spending the summer with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League, Horvath returned to Chapel Hill for a career year. The 21-year-old hit .305 with 24 home runs, 66 RBI, 25 stolen bases and an 1.129 OPS.

Horvath was named a First Team All-American by Perfect Game, and he made Second Team All-ACC.

The first 98 starts of Horvath's career were at third base, but he picked up a handful of games in right and center in 2023. He was being scouted primarily as an outfielder.

Out of the Orioles' first 17 picks in this year's draft, sixth were outfielders and 11 were pitchers. It took Baltimore's front office until the 16th round before they went for a player that wasn't either a pitcher or outfielder.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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