LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. — Fewer than 80 at-bats from now, Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. will leave behind his prospect eligibility. Then a left-handed pitcher will assume the mantle of being the top player in a loaded farm system.
Like Tatis, MacKenzie Gore is not old enough to legally purchase a drink. He lacks experience in other areas. Yet his poise and talent elevate him far beyond his peers.
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On March 24, inside newly opened Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú, a crowd of 20,000 watched Gore pump 98 mph fastballs and manhandle a veteran offense in an exhibition between Padres prospects and Mexico City’s Diablos Rojos. Facing a lineup that contained former major-leaguers and other seasoned professionals, the 20-year-old logged four innings, surrendered only a single and notched five strikeouts before celebrating a victory in his first trip outside the United States.
“He did everything you want to do,” said general manager A.J. Preller, who attended the exhibition. “He controlled the game.”
MacKenzie Gore outing in Mexico
(2nd part): pic.twitter.com/SpOjlgS5CA
— Octavio Hernández Pernia (@octaviolider) March 25, 2019
The momentum has carried into the regular season. On April 5, Gore marked his High-A debut with five scoreless innings at Inland Empire. Last Thursday in Lake Elsinore’s home opener, he replicated the line against the same opponent.
Those performances stand in contrast to last year, when Gore struggled to find consistency on the mound. That, too, was unfamiliar. Over the weekend, Gore reflected on the physical and mental aspects of his growth.
“I’m in a lot better place than I was a year ago today,” he said.
For most of 2018, Gore felt anything except in control. Recurring blisters on his left middle finger siphoned his fastball command and dulled his secondary pitches. A fingernail issue on the same digit ended his season in August.
Even in a diminished state, Gore averaged more than a strikeout per inning. At times, the then-teenager overmatched Low-A batters. Yet he failed to land anywhere near his own expectations. He finished with a 4.45 ERA in only 60 2/3 innings. In eight of his 16 starts, he did not record more than nine outs.
“I just wasn’t healthy at all last year,” Gore said. “The command was going, but the stuff was going, too. It wasn’t like I had good stuff and I couldn’t command it. I didn’t really have good stuff.”
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The problems ran deeper. Gore acknowledges that his repeated struggles and trips to the disabled list affected more than his physical well-being.
“It was hard,” he said. “It was like I was trapped in a cage. I couldn’t get out, I was stuck. … I was in a bad place there (mentally), and God does things to get your attention.”
Cliff Godwin is the head baseball coach at East Carolina University. Though he never coached Gore in an official capacity — the pitcher bypassed college after the Padres drafted him third overall in 2017 — the two formed a bond. In each of the past two offseasons, Gore lived with Godwin and trained at ECU. And though the 41-year-old Godwin is twice his roommate’s age, “we’re basically like best friends,” Gore said.
While Godwin offered a mix of encouragement and tough love, Gore found another role model inside the Padres’ system. Like Tatis, rookie right-hander Chris Paddack should discard his prospect status this season. But in 2016, he was a 20-year-old minor-leaguer who had suffered his own setback, a torn ulnar collateral ligament that required Tommy John surgery.
Paddack applied a singular focus to months of rehabilitation. Along the way, he befriended a younger pitcher with a similar temperament.
“He’s like Paddack,” Lake Elsinore pitching coach Pete Zamora said of Gore. “Paddack enjoys the grinding workouts just as much as the game, the preparation leading up to it. They’re not ever like, ‘Oh, I have to go do that.’ It’s like, ‘I can’t wait to go do that.’ That’s what separates those guys.”
During the offseason, after Paddack had completed a triumphant comeback and Gore had tasted significant frustration, they deepened their friendship over golf outings and weighty conversations.
“Last year when I was done and just reflecting on the year, I looked back at how he handles himself off the field, spiritually,” Gore said. “He talked about, when he was hurt, how he handled it and where he was at that point in his life. And that situation is very similar. His injury was a lot worse than mine. Mine was just a little finger thing. But baseball will humble you. You have all the hype, (being the) top left-handed pitcher a year ago in the minor leagues. But you’re not even close to where you need to be right now, so you’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Padres rookie Chris Paddack, who made a successful return from Tommy John surgery, has been a friend and mentor to Gore. (Jimmy Simmons / Getty Images)
Today, Gore highlights the positives from a season of stunted development. He considers himself a more mature person, better-equipped to respond to adversity. His arm, after barely more than 60 innings last year, is fresh. His desire to continue improving is as robust as ever.
“I’m free,” Gore said. “I pitch and I talk about baseball now. I don’t pitch and get asked, ‘Are you OK?’”
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Gore does not have to look far for motivation. At the beginning of last season, he pitched in the same Low-A rotation as a soft-tossing left-hander named Nick Margevicius. Paddack remained in extended spring training, still a few weeks away from his High-A debut.
Now, Margevicius and Paddack are starters for the Padres, pitching in home games an hour from Lake Elsinore. Through three big-league starts, Margevicius owns a 1.69 ERA. Paddack carries a 1.29 ERA. Tatis, only several weeks older than Gore, has clubbed five home runs and supplied rangy defense. They are prominent examples of an organization that rewards players who earn opportunities, regardless of age.
“They’re putting the guys who are good enough in the big leagues because we want to win now,” Gore said. “It’s exciting, because if I keep getting better and I keep doing the things I need to do, then yeah, I’m pretty close. But also, if I get complacent and I get satisfied where I’m at, somebody else is going to pass me and you get left behind.”
Gore’s raw talent and four-pitch arsenal still tantalize the industry. Despite repeated inquiries, the Padres have refused to entertain including him in trade talks. ESPN.com recently ranked Gore No. 7 among all prospects. Other publications also place him among the elite, noting a rare combination of pitchability and athleticism.
“He’s a freak,” Zamora said, citing Gore’s vertical leap on a basketball court and his ability to drive a golf ball 300-plus yards. “It comes easy to him. A lot of it’s God-given, but a lot of it’s hardcore determination and where he wants to be.”
Gore raises comparisons to another pitcher every sixth day. The left-hander is meticulous to the point that he carries a stopwatch in his back pocket, scripting his pre-start routine to the minute.
“His game day is very, for lack of a better term, Paddack-like,” Zamora said. “They’re great teammates and everything, but when it’s their day, it’s total focus.”
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Gore’s recent health has allowed him to channel his energy toward the mound. Blister-free, he operated without restrictions during spring training. He blanked a veteran offense in his first game on foreign soil. Through two starts in High A, he has struck out 15 batters and walked only two. He has not yielded a run.
Yet, he says, his command and execution are not where they need to be.
“I can be a lot better, and that’s the good thing about it,” Gore said. “I’m in a really good place mentally and physically right now, and I’ve just got to keep working.”
This season’s primary objective, Preller said, is to build a significant base of innings, something Gore missed out on in 2018. By doing so, he can position himself as a future workhorse for a big-league rotation. Given the advancement of others in the system, it is not a stretch to say the Padres’ top pitching prospect could arrive in San Diego by early 2020.
For now, Gore is an hour away, attempting to close the distance, striving to stay in the moment.
“I don’t have a goal to stay healthy. I do not have a goal that I want to end the year at (a certain level),” he said. “I just want to go dominate every day. I’m going to say that and say that, because that’s what I’m going to do. … It’s easy to look ahead in minor-league baseball — am I a pitch away, am I going to develop, all that. Just be where your feet are and be happy where you are. That’s the biggest thing.”
(Top photo of MacKenzie Gore: Hector Vivas / Getty Images)