When the Padres picked MacKenzie Gore with the 3rd overall pick in 2017, they knew the amount of strikeouts that'd be coming their way. This was a period of Padres baseball without many trusted starting options, and getting a guy like that in the mix would make them competitive in no-time, especially considering that Fernando Tatis Jr. would make his way into the equation shortly. However, unlike your Rhett Lowders and Paul Skeneses, Gore's development lasted through the 2019 season, and still had further to climb before the pandemic ensured his 2020 season wouldn't be the breakout one he was hoping for. Then in 2021 he struggles with injuries, and by the time he was ready for the show in 2022, the Padres were....good.
Like, they were now working with a rotation of Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, Sean Manaea and Mike Clevinger. They didn't need MacKenzie Gore as badly as they did in 2017. So while Gore got some starts filling in for Clevinger midyear, he was officially expendable, due to so many things that were outside his control.
What I'm saying is that the Soto deal was the best thing that could have happened to him. He goes to a rebuilding team with plenty of rotation spots and an emphasis on letting young players prosper. Already in Washington we have seen C.J. Abrams and James Wood, two other dispatches from the Soto deal, become excellent players. Wood's been looking great so far this year. Robert Hassell's maybe another year or so away [ironically there might not be outfield room for HIM now] but he's also looking fantastic. And Gore, in that package, was the most MLB ready guy there.
...apart from Luke Voit, but...y'know..
MacKenzie Gore's 2024 was pretty good admittedly, as he pitched in all 32 games, struck out 182 and had a 3.90 ERA. But, as the team wasn't good yet, it wasn't the most helpful season. Now the team is...only marginally better, but Gore is now fully comfortable in the majors, and striking out 13 Phillies on Opening Day certainly makes that clear. He currently leads the league in strikeouts with 25, something that shouldn't have shocked the Padres scouts 8 years ago. He's keeping his ERA, not allowing many runs, and has been one of the best players on the Nationals. That's what the Padres needed, and now that they don't need him anymore he's exactly what the Nationals need.
The Nats themselves are doing basically what people thought they would. Winning the occasional tough matchup, but not outlasting the division's big guns. The biggest disappointment of the year so far has been Dylan Crews, who's only hitting .128 with 5 hits in 39 at-bats. Meanwhile James Wood has 10 RBIs and 4 homers, so it's not all bad. Nathaniel Lowe, even for an interim piece, fits this team really well, and is much less overshadowed than he was in Texas. The core of Ruiz, Abrams, Garcia and Wood seems to be in place [I kinda figured Jacob Young would be right there with him but he'll be along eventually I guess], and Parker, Gore and Finnegan are off to excellent starts.
The Nats know how difficult it will be to outlast the Mets and Phils this year, and I think their goal involves waiting til the point where their peak outweighs the competition. It might not be this year but it could be soon.
Coming Tomorrow- The guy's gotta be sick of losing his job to Juan Soto. Nevertheless, he's doing well enough for himself.
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