After nearly six months of trade speculation, Paul Toboni finally got a MacKenzie Gore deal done, sending the southpaw to the Texas Rangers in exchange for five prospects. While none of the five prospects acquired for Gore are currently top 100 in major publications, they all possess unique skills that could put them in those conversations in the upcoming 2026 season.
Of the five prospects, shortstop Gavin Fien is the most highly touted, the twelfth pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. Fien was MLB Pipeline’s 22nd prospect and my 15th prospect in the 2025 draft class, and was a favorite of many draft analysts who particularly value summer circuit performance. In the summer of 2024, before Fien’s senior year, he destroyed the nation’s best prep pitching, hitting .450 with a 1.262 OPS in 68 at-bats. The underlying numbers also supported Fien’s great success, specifically an 81st percentile contact rate, 90th percentile strikeout rate and 97th percentile strikeout rate.
Fien seemed destined to skyrocket up the rankings, but a strange senior season at Great Oaks High School in California held that back somewhat. He still finished his senior season with an OPS of 1.056, but he had a slow start to the year, finishing below his sophomore and junior year marks of 1.133 and 1.147. Even without a ridiculous senior campaign, Fien still made big money in the draft, going 12th overall to the Texas Rangers for a 4.8 million signing bonus, with reports of him being considered by the Cardinals and Pirates with their first-round picks at 5th and 6th overall, respectively.
According to Joe Doyle of Over-Slot, a fantastic site that covers the MLB draft extensively, the Red Sox scouting department liked Fien’s skills in the pre-draft, and it seems likely he would have been their pick had he been taken 15th overall. With Paul Toboni and many of his Red Sox colleagues now in DC, they are bringing in a prospect they were very high on in last year’s draft class, someone they saw as having the potential to become a star.
Fien’s professional debut after the 2025 draft was short-lived, just ten games at Low A, and while it wasn’t anything remarkable considering he hit .220 with a 75 wRC+, it did show some of the reason why he was so beloved by many draft analysts. In his 10-game debut, Fien had 4 extra base hits, 3 doubles and 1 triple, showing the power potential he will have as he matures into his 6’3″ frame. He also did a good job pulling the ball, a skill essential to maximizing power output for hitters like Fien.
Defensively, even though Fien is on the shortstop roster, he is likely destined for third base in pro ball, where he should be a natural fit thanks to his strong arm. This fits in well with Eli Willits in the organization, who is at the same level and currently plays in the same position as Fien. Expect Fien to make his Nationals debut this season with the FredNats, where he will play alongside Eli Willits at third base at shortstop, a left side of the infield that fans will see growing up together for years to come in the minor leagues.
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