After being a crucial piece in one of the biggest trades in MLB history, MacKenzie Gore has experienced quite the career while in Washington. His career has been a rollercoaster of stellar, ace-level moments and struggling, inconsistent moments. The first half of the season was the best stretch of MacKenzie Gore’s career, and it earned him his first All-Star appearance. However, since pitching in the All-Star game, things have turned for the worse as he has struggled on the mound and has recently
suffered a shoulder injury that has kept him sidelined. He will come back today though, as the southpaw looks to finish the season strong.
The questions keep piling up for the Washington Nationals, and one question that could be asked is whether MacKenzie Gore should be a long-term option for Washington.
Let’s dive into the career of MacKenzie Gore and see if Washington should consider an extension or sell high on the lefty.
Gore started his career playing for the San Diego Padres and threw solidly as a rookie, pitching to a 4.50 ERA and starting 13 games. Since 2022, Gore has steadily improved his statistics, and in 2024, he had a career year with a 3.90 ERA and a 104 ERA+. After an incredible first half, many fans, including myself, expected Gore to continue his dominance and prove himself as a potential ace for the future. However, he has regressed in the second half, throwing a near 6.00 ERA in his last seven starts before his stint on the Injured List.
The statistics have remained relatively the same when examining the base stats. As inconsistent as he has been, the highs have been incredible, and the lows have been dreadful. Can he find a happy medium and experience more of the highs?
Underlying metrics tell a story that the regular stat sheet doesn’t show. Whether a pitcher has been lucky, unlucky, good, or bad, underlying metrics paint an image of the potential outcome for a pitcher. In this case, the underlying metrics are down from his 2024 season. Fastball velocity, average exit velocity, walk rate, barrel percentage, and hard-hit rate have regressed this season and could be the reason for the poor second half. Expected stats such as slugging and WOBA have regressed as well, leading to a regressed 2025.
However, Gore has improved in many areas, and some of the most important areas for pitching continue to grow. Pitching run value, fastball run value, and breaking run value have progressed this season, along with whiff, strikeout, and walk percentage. Gore has shown some improvements, but it seems Gore is stagnate at this point in his career.
MacKenzie Gore has a stellar arsenal of pitches for a left-handed pitcher. His four-seam is his favorite pitch, followed by the curveball, slider, changeup, and cutter. He has struggled in the back half of the season; however, he has excelled in developing certain pitches.
Statistically, his four-seam and change-up have been his worst pitches. Opponents are succeeding against the four-seam, batting .304, and have an expected slugging of .518. The changeup has struggled as well, but the expected stats are in his favor. Batters are batting .286 with an expected batting average of .216, and the slugging is at .551 with an expected slugging of .398.
What has been successful?
Gore lowered the usage of his cutter in 2024. The cutter was his third most used pitch last season, and that has dropped to his dead last in usage. In 2025, it has been great when used, as batters are batting .156 and slugging .188 against it. The slider has been his best pitch, as batters are batting .190 and slugging .286 as his third most used pitch.
The four-seamer has struggled this season, and we could see him start to lean away from the pitch heading into 2026. Brewers right-hander Quinn Priester revamped his game by leaning on his cutter and sinker, and we could see a similar situation with Gore. If Gore can learn how to play off his successful off-speed pitches, he can find success like he had in the first half of 2025.
Conclusion and Opinion
MacKenzie Gore has thrown a lot of innings at just 26 years old. With his ability to stay on the field and throw at an average to above-average level, he should be considered a long-term option for the Washington Nationals. However, Gore could command big-time money when the times come for an extension, and for that to happen, a few things need to happen.
I believe that for Gore to take his game to another level, he needs to experiment with the cutter and try to incorporate a sinker. Yes, the strikeout and whiff numbers have improved, however, Gore has shown throughout the years that his four-seam should be experimented with. This could improve his ability to induce ground balls, leading to more success with less velocity.
