Nationals Ace Has Chance To Do Something Rare in Baseball's Modern Era

The Washington Nationals have enjoyed a breakout season from their young ace, who has played himself into the chance to enter rarified air.

MLB.com's Jared Greenspan recently highlighted that MacKenzie Gore is on pace for a whopping 295 strikeouts this season. That puts him within reach of the 300-club, which is something that only 19 pitchers have accomplished since 1900.

The last time it was done was in 2019 where both Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander crossed the threshold as teammates for the Houston Astros. Chris Sale's 2017 campaign was the last time it was done by a southpaw.

The Nationals received Gore as a part of the massive Juan Soto trade back in 2022. He has started to realize his potential at the perfect time as the other trade pieces have started to break out in the Majors as well.

This deal was brutal at the time, but continues to be a blessing for Washington.

About MacKenzie Gore

Gore was a first-round pick back in 2017 out of high school, so the fact that he has become an ace isn't super surprising. Just how good he is pitching already is a bit shocking, though.

The 26-year-old has been steadily improving throughout his career, but this is the biggest jump forward he has made in a year-to-year sense.

Through his first 11 starts, he has a 3.47 ERA with a 1.251 WHIP and MLB-leading 13.4 K/9. He has struck out 93 batters in just 62.1 innings.

He has struck out 13 batters in two different games and has only finished with less than seven strikeouts twice. For someone that hasn't gone over 6.2 innings in an outing, that's very impressive.

Gore could stand to be a bit more efficient to get longer into games, but that just doesn't seem like it will ever be his approach.

If he keeps striking out batters at the clip that he is right now, no one will be complaining.

His next two scheduled starts are against the Chicago Cubs and the Seattle Mariners, which should provide some good insight on just where he is standing. Those are two top five offenses and a great chance to prove himself even further.

Gore's previous career-high strikeout rate was 25.9% in 2023. This year, that's up to 36.2%. His walk rate is also at a career-low 8.2%, proving he is just simply getting better.

He has already played himself into the NL Cy Young conversation. While it would be a long shot to see him win it, even finishing as a finalist would put him ahead of schedule.