Washington Nationals Dave Martinez Shares Bold Take on Potential of Young Pitcher
The 2024 season was one of ups and downs for Washington Nationals starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore.
He started off hot, looking like the kind of star evaluators believed he could be when he was moving through the minor leagues. His ERA in March/April and May was 3.19 and 2.60 respectively.
Then in the summer, he hit a snag.
Gore’s production fell off a cliff. In June he struggled with a 5.13 ERA but things reached its lowest in July when he had a 7.62 ERA across 26 innings.
In August, he started to find his groove again with a 4.05 ERA. It was a sign of things to come, as the former top prospect was in the discussion as the best starting pitcher in baseball in September.
Across five starts and 28.2 innings, Gore recorded a 1.26 ERA, surrendering only 13 hits and 10 walks that resulted in 10 runs scored, only four of which were earned. He added 35 strikeouts as well.
His 2024 campaign ended on a very high note, as he threw six shutout innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up only three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts.
That kind of performance will lead Gore into the upcoming offseason with a ton of positive momentum. It also led to manager Dave Martinez making a bold quote about how good his young lefty can be in the future.
"Here's a guy who can win 18-20 games for us," said Martinez, via Mark Zuckerman of Masn following Saturday’s 6-3 win, the team’s 71st of the season. "When he's in the strike zone, he's really good. Today, he proved that."
The incredible finish was punctuated by Gore striking out the side in the sixth inning. It was no small feat, as he beat Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper in his last inning of work in the season.
"I thought I had a good mix, had a good game plan going in," he said. "We faced these guys a lot. So I know them. They've seen me a lot. I thought we did a good of executing when we needed to.”
The No. 3 pick in the 2017 MLB Draft went toe-to-toe with Cy Young Award contender Zack Wheeler, providing a peek into what the future could hold for the potential Nationals ace moving forward.
