40 for 40: MacKenzie Gore

Editors Note: This is a new edition of our ongoing 40-man breakdown series. You can read more of the series here.

Position:  Left-handed Starting Pitcher

Current Status: MLB

How Acquired: Mackenzie Gore was acquired as a part of the Juan Soto and Josh Bell trade to the San Diego Padres in 2022

2023 Grade: C+

2024 Opening Day Projection: MLB Front of Rotation Starter

2023 Stats: W-L: 7-10, 4.42 ERA, 136.1 IP, 151 SO, 1.40 WHIP, 1.3 fWAR, 2 bWAR

2023 Analysis:

In his first full season as a starter, Mackenzie Gore had up and down results.  If you went start by start, it would almost seem like there were two different pitchers.  One of them was a strikeout machine with a terrifying fastball, and the other was a pitcher who struggled with control and to make batters miss.  An inconsistent year with some bright spots led to the C+ grade, with room to improve in 2024 for a guy whose ceiling is hard to find.

2024 Outlook:

Gore’s 2024 can go one of two ways, either he takes that step forward that he is primed to do and steps into a role as a true ace in the majors, or he continues to be the inconsistent pitcher that we saw in 2023.  Cutting down his walk rate from the 9.8 percent that it was last year would be the most important improvement he can make.

I expect pitch selection and placement to improve as I believe it will for the entire pitching staff with the hopefully fluke of a season behind the dish that Keibert Ruiz just had.  Just doing that will lead to much improvement on the mound.  This is a make-or-break season for Gore, while he is still young he needs to prove that he is continuing to develop to stay in as high regard as he is right now.