Rangers get MacKenzie Gore
Nationals by Gavin Fien (No. 2), Rosario Alejandro (No. 6), Devin Fitz-Gerald (No. 12), Yermey Cabra (No. 16), Ortis Abimelec (No. 18)
That’s a significant return for the Nationals, but that’s the cost of acquiring one of the best left-handed starters in the game with two years of control remaining. You could say the Rangers have only made their farm system worse, but while the prospects are bright, they aren’t everything. Especially with the Rangers window now upon us and those guys nowhere near making an impact on the big league club. MacKenzie Gore will make an immediate impact at the Major League level. The Rangers starting rotation is now led by Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore and Jack Leiter. Cody Bradford is also making good progress in his rehabilitation and could be back around mid-May. That’s a very good rotation that, if healthy, could be dangerous in the playoffs.
Now let’s talk about what MacKenzie Gore brings to the table. Gore brings a five-pitch repertoire consisting of a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider, changeup and cutter. Gore’s fastball, which he throws 49% of the time, will travel about 95 MPH and generate an induced vertical break of 17 inches (or iVB). He also gets a 26% chase rate on the field. MacKenzie Gore is also getting a good extension (he’s in the 86th percentile). His numbers are 105 Stuff+, which is the highest of all his pitches.
Gore’s secondary players certainly make him one of the best left-handed starters in the game. His changeup, which he throws 10% of the time, generates an insane 47.2 Whiff% on the pitch, while hitters chase it 33.8% of the time. Gore’s curveball is also very good. Opponents’ batting average against the curve is .217. He also generates a good amount of whiff, as hitters swing and miss 35.7% of the time and have a chase rate of 32.5%. Gore likes to use the curve against right-handed hitters, but will still throw it against lefties. The slider is also a very good offering from Gore. A pitch he throws 12% of the time and is basically only used against left-handed hitters. Hitters whiff 39.3% of the time and have a chase rate of 31.5%. Opponents also hit just .195 against it. MacKenzie Gore also throws in a cutter 5% of the time, which also gives him good results. Hitters swing and miss against the pitch 40.9% of the time and have a .200 batting average against it.
Some people might look at MacKenzie Gore’s ERA, which is at 4.17, and say why we gave up those players for a pitcher with an ERA over 4. MacKenzie Gore has had a WAR over 6 the last two seasons, and there are only six players who can say that. That list includes Paul Skenes, Garrett Crochet, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Hunter Brown, Hunter Greene and MacKenzie Gore. I’d say he’s in very good company. Before the all-star break, he had a 3.02 ERA and was among the league leaders in strikeouts. He’s now pitching in a much more pitcher-friendly park after spending time in a hitter-friendly environment in Washington. Additionally, the Nationals’ defense was among the worst in the league and the Rangers are good defensively. Maybe not as good as last year, but it will still be good. This is a very good move for the Rangers and I have to give credit to Chris Young and Ross Fenstermaker because I didn’t think we could land MacKenzie Gore.
(All stats courtesy of Baseball Savant, TJstats and Fangraphs.)
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