Washington Nationals Ace Continues Incredible Start to Spring Training
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The Washington Nationals did not touch the top of their starting rotation this offseason, instead hoping for continued improvement. So far, that looks like it could have paid off.
Staff ace MacKenzie Gore made his second start of the spring on Wednesday afternoon and it was another gem.
Gore delivered 5.1 more innings of scoreless baseball with two hits, three walks and six strikeouts. Through his first two starts, he still has an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of just 0.96.
The 26-year-old was a former third overall pick coming out of high school, by the San Diego Padres, and has been rounding into form closer to that level of pitcher.
He has improved each season and another jump this year could get him into true ace status and have him make a push for an All-Star nod.
One thing that is hard to ignore when looking at Gore's performance from a year ago is the fact that he had an absurdly high .340 BABIP. He has always come in slightly above average in that category, but a .340 seems very unlucky.
Despite that fact, he still put together a solid junior campaign with a 3.90 ERA over 32 starts.
A big reason for his success on the mound has been his high strikeout numbers. He finished 12th among qualified pitchers last season with a 9.79 K/9.
That has translated well through the early part of spring with 10 strikeouts over 8.1 innings of work. Sustaining a double-digit K/9 would vault him into the conversation with the elite starters in baseball, at least in terms of strikeout rate.
The biggest worry right now would have to be the fact that he has already walked four batters. His walk rate has steadily dropped with each season, but four thorugh 8.1 innings is a bit worrisome.
It could have something to do with a different approach to the plate which has dropped the amount of hits he is giving up, but it is certainly something to watch as spring rolls one.
One thing to note about Gore is that he is historically much better in the early parts of the season.
For his career, he has a 2.82 ERA in March/April and a 2.85 ERA in May. Those numbers drop to 5.43 and 7.89 in July before rounding back into average form later in the year.
He clearly struggles with fatigue as the season goes on, so finding a way to manage that could lead to him maintaining his strong start later into the campaign.
For now, at least, Gore has to be happy with the results through two starts.
