The Arizona Fall League will give the Los Angeles Dodgers an intriguing opportunity to evaluate one of their lesser-known pitching prospects.

Sam Horn, a right-handed pitcher selected by the Dodgers in the 17th round of the 2025 MLB Draft, is scheduled to take part in the Fall League after an unconventional path to professional baseball. Unlike many of the prospects participating this fall, Horn has yet to appear in a professional game, making his AFL debut particularly noteworthy.

Horn signed with Los Angeles for nearly $500,000 after being selected in the draft, but his development has been slowed by injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery that cost him the 2024 season and was also limited during his college career at Missouri.

The Fall League will therefore provide the Dodgers with their first extended opportunity to see what Horn can do against professional competition.

Horn's athletic background is part of what makes his development especially interesting. Before committing fully to baseball, he was also a quarterback at Missouri, though injuries significantly limited his opportunities on the football field.

His baseball career at Missouri was similarly interrupted. Horn accumulated only 15 innings across two seasons with the Tigers, leaving him with relatively little collegiate pitching experience before entering the professional ranks.

That lack of experience makes his upcoming AFL assignment an important developmental step. Rather than simply building on several full college seasons, Horn is still gaining the innings and repetitions typically accumulated earlier in a pitching career.

The Dodgers will have an opportunity to monitor how he handles professional hitters while also continuing to develop his pitching arsenal.

Despite the limited track record, Horn has shown enough raw stuff to generate intrigue within the Dodgers' system.

His fastball reportedly reached 98 mph during 2025, giving him a foundation that could become a significant weapon as he gains experience. He also features a sweeper in the 82-86 mph range, giving him a second pitch with which to attack hitters.

The challenge will be translating those physical tools into consistent results. Horn has very little professional experience to draw from, so the AFL represents an important first test of how his stuff plays against advanced competition.

With several prominent prospects receiving much of the attention in Arizona, Horn enters the Fall League with considerably less recognition. However, a strong showing could quickly change that.

For the Dodgers, the AFL provides a chance to get an extended look at a pitcher whose development has been anything but conventional.

If Horn can stay healthy and demonstrate that his fastball and secondary offering translate against professional hitters, he could begin moving toward a more prominent place in the organization’s pitching picture.