MacKenzie Gore Already Turning Heads at Rangers Spring Training

The Texas Rangers fell to the Chicago White Sox, 3-1, on Friday in Surprise, Ariz. But new starter MacKenzie Gore had a great day.

The left-hander, who was acquired in January from the Washington Nationals for five Top 30 prospects, built on his solid spring training debut with a three-inning performance against the White Sox in which he didn’t allow a run. He gave up three hits and struck out one hitter. He also threw 38 pitches, 27 of which went for strikes.

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He also knows how to take a pitch.

During his start, he took a comebacker off his leg, a hit that was measured at 101.1 mph by Statcast. Gore picked up the ball and made the play at first. Manager Skip Schumaker and trainers paid him a visit. But he stayed in the game.

MacKenzie Gore on Comebacker

Texas Rangers hat sits on top of a black glove on a dugout step before a game — Texas Rangers hat sits on top of a black glove. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Gore said the ball hit him above the knee and in the thigh, which took some of the brunt out of the drive.

“It’ll probably be ugly, but I’ll be back,” Gore said to Rangers beat writers in Surprise, Ariz., after his start.

Gore trimmed his spring training ERA to 3.86 with the performance. In his first outing he went 1.2 innings, allowing three hits and two earned runs. He didn’t give up a walk or strike anyone out.

Stats aren’t the thing at spring training though. It’s more about mechanics, feel and ensuring that you’re on track to be ready for the regular season. Gore was happy with that on Friday, especially his velocity, which was consistently at 95 mph for his fastball but topped out at 97 mph on one four-seam fastball.

“Velo is more than enough right now,” Gore said about his fastball which reached 95 mph during the game. “We might even hit the seven (97 mph) at some point. Velo is solid. I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Gore is expected to be the third or fourth starter in a rotation topped by Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi, who Gore says he’s already learning from less than three weeks into camp.

“They just kind of push you without even saying anything,” he said. “You just try to keep up.”

Two other takeaways from Friday’s game:

Cameron Cauley Strikes Again: Cameron Cauley hasn’t played above Double-A Frisco but he’s making the Rangers’ roster construction delightfully hard. He went 2-for-3 on Friday and drove in the only run. He’s batting .316 in spring training. After a week, he’s shaping up to be the Alejandro Osuna of this year’s spring training, the prospect that sticks around MLB camp until the final week and pushes for the final roster spot.

Alexis Díaz Has a Rough Day: The reliever, who was signed to be a potential option at closer, had a rough outing a few days after he threw a scoreless inning. He followed Gore in the fourth inning, allowed two hits and all three White Sox runs as he only recorded two outs. He struck out one, walked one and gave up a home run. Texas kept him out of games early as he continued a ramp-up and mechanical adjustments. One outing doesn’t hurt him that much. But adjustments seem likely between now and his next appearance.