Padres Top Pitching Prospect MacKenzie Gore Set to Return to Action Tuesday for Fort Wayne
Credit: MiLB
The Padres’ second-ranked prospect, MacKenzie Gore, has been on the shelf since his first start of 2018 on April 10th with blisters on his throwing hand. Those can be stubborn little buggers, but it seems Gore has finally beat the blisters and will now get back to beating hitters who oppose him and the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Tuesday.
.@TinCaps manager Anthony Contreras told reporters that MacKenzie Gore will return from DL (blister) on Tuesday in Quad Cities.
— Jeff Sanders (@sdutSanders) May 6, 2018
Fort Wayne takes on Quad Cities on Tuesday at 9:00am PDT and Gore is listed as the probably starter. This is great news for Padres fans who anxiously await the arrival of the best overall left-handed pitching prospect in the entire league. For now, we will have to settle for marveling at him mowing down minor league hitters. Fort Wayne could certainly use the lefty as they have stumbled out to a 13-17 start.
Barely 19 years old, Gore is a long way off from donning the Padres’ colors (whatever they might be at that time), but it won’t dampen the excitement from Padres fans. In his lone start this season, Gore went just three innings and struggled with command, apparently due to those blisters. He did strike out four, but also allowed two runs.
In essence, this is Gore’s first healthy start for Fort Wayne and his second career start above Rookie ball. One thing no one can deny is that this kid loves to compete and is a bulldog on the mound. You want guys like that in your rotation.
Don't let the stat-line fool you. MacKenzie Gore looked poised in his debut Class A start. @TinCaps @Padres @Mgore181 @FortWaynesNBC pic.twitter.com/BVg34wpjlr
— Chris Ryan (@ChrisRyan_TV) April 11, 2018
Gore was the third overall pick in last year’s draft and has done nothing to decrease expectations that he will be at the top of a future Padres rotation. He had a 1.27 ERA in seven starts in the Arizona League after he was drafted last season. Many think he will shoot up the system quickly.
First, he needs to take care of business in Fort Wayne, and that starts up again on Tuesday.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.