How good has Washington Nationals ace McKenzie Gore been this year? The Washington Nationals may not have the talent to compete for a playoff spot this season, but they are not far behind and can play spoiler to those who do.
The young core they’ve created over the last four years is thriving in the Major Leagues and gradually becoming household names. The team’s ace, MacKenzie Gore, may fit into that criteria more than any other player on the roster.
Gore, 26, joined the Nationals as part of a transaction that sent Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres. Now in his fourth year in the Major Leagues, the lefty appears to have worked things out, pitching at a level never seen before.
Gore has a 3.33 ERA across 46 innings in his first eight starts, with 68 strikeouts and a Major League-leading 123 ERA+. This achievement has landed the dominant lefty in the most current edition of MLB’s pitcher power rankings.
MacKenzie Gore is ranked 10th in the latest pitcher power rankings. It has been a long road to this point for Gore, with a lot of steps forward in his development. But that development now finds the young stud tied for 10th with Philadelphia Phillies’ starter Jesus Luzardo. “This is the version of Gore that was expected when he was selected third overall in the 2017 Draft by the Padres and became a consensus top-10 prospect,” writes Andrew Simon of MLB.com. “The lefty’s pro career has been far from a smooth ride, but after showing improvement over his first few big league seasons, Gore seems to be in full-on breakout mode at age 26.”
Along with leading the Majors in strikeouts, Gore has an incredible 36.4% K-rate, which is largely due to his deadly curveball. The offering has a 53% whiff rate and has accounted for 26 of the lefty’s strikeouts this season.
Gore being the Nationals’ ace is a significant step forward for the team’s future. If he can maintain this form for the rest of the season and into the future, the quantity of hardware he can bring home is only limited by his imagination.
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