Ever since MacKenzie Gore was the 2017 Gatorade National High School player of the year and put up some of the most insane stats you will ever see, evaluators knew he had the talent to become an ace. Gore went number three overall in the 2017 Draft and has been billed as a future ace for years.
The southpaw has taken a winding path, but eight years later, MacKenzie Gore is the ace he was always supposed to be. Gore had some peaks and valley’s as a Minor Leaguer in the Padres organization, but he eventually made it to the Big Leagues in 2022.
No More Summer Swoons:
Before this season, his MLB seasons have followed similar patterns. Gore always has a great start to the season, teasing fans into believing in him before fading after the first couple months. In March and April, Gore has a career ERA of 3.07. May is even better for the lefty, with a 2.80 ERA.
However, his career ERA in June is 4.68 and in July it is an ugly 6.98. This season, the summer months have not been a problem for Gore, even as the team around him crumbles. Gore was not a problem in the Nats miserable June, posting a 2.93 ERA in five starts. He has also been sharp in his first two starts of July, with a 2.38 ERA.
Sure, the strikeouts numbers have not been as eye popping lately, but Gore is still getting good results and doing a better job limiting hard contact. He was a deserving all star, with his 3.02 ERA and 2.91 FIP.
Gore is striking out more batters than ever and walking batters at a career low clip. His 11.26 K/9 is an exceptional number and his 2.85 BB/9 is also better than average. This is a pitcher who has taken his game to a new level. So let’s get into the nitty gritty and see what Gore has done.
White Castle Special:
MacKenzie Gore has had a ton of success with his breaking pitches this season. His curveball has been a very good pitch for a couple of years now and he has always had a slider/cutter pitch. However, he added a slider to combat left handed hitters and it has elevated his whole mix.
Last year, Gore threw a slider just 1.3% of the time. This year he is throwing it 12.4% of the time. It is a pitch he almost exclusively throws to left handed hitters. Gore has thrown 229 sliders to lefties and just 2 to righties.
He is actually using his slider more than any other pitch against lefties, firing it in there 45.5% of the time against them. Even with the heavy usage, the pitch is wildly successful. Left handed hitters are batting just .117 against the slide piece. They are 7/60 with 27 strikeouts against the offering. Here he is carving up Juan Soto with three straight sliders.
Last year, Gore used mainly a fastball, cutter, curve mix against lefties. Only the curveball was particularly effective, but he does not like throwing it to lefties as much as righties. However, this year he has an out pitch to control left handed hitters. He also mixes in the curveball to devastating effect when he needs to.
His mix against right handed hitters is quite similar to last year. Gore throws a lot of heaters, while using his wipeout curveball as his primary secondary pitch. He will also show righties a changeup and a cutter. Those pitches have flashes and they are really nice when he executes them. However, they are not as consistent. Gore has not changed too much of what he does against righties because it has worked for him.
Whiff Machine:
This season MacKenzie Gore has been a monster when it comes to generating whiffs. His ability to get swing and miss on a regular basis is why he is an All-Star. All four of Gore’s secondary pitches have a whiff% north of 40% which is insane.
Gore has a very good fastball too. While his velocity is actually down from 96 MPH to 95.3 MPH, the heater still has plenty of steam. Gore cut his fastball usage by about 5%, but is still throwing it just over 50% of the time.
The heater sets up all his other pitches and allows them to shine. It has good, but not elite whiff numbers, but it is the pitch everything else works off of. Hitters fear his hard fastball, which has very good shape as well.
Overall, Gore has a 31.7% whiff rate, a 31.9% chase rate and a 30.5% K rate. Those numbers are all in the 86th percentile or better among all pitchers. Among qualified starters, Gore is 6th in K%, 4th in whiff% and 10th in out of zone swing%.
This is what makes MacKenzie Gore an All-Star level ace. He is an elite swing and miss artist that gets hitters to chase at his pitches constantly. Gore has always had this in him, but he has finally found the recipe this season.
A combination of a refined pitch mix and a greater maturity on the mound has allowed Gore to reach his potential. It is a joy to watch him every fifth day even if it is frustrating to see the lack of run support he gets. I can’t wait to see MacKenzie show off his arsenal in the All-Star game tonight.