17Representing the southpaws are the Padres’
MacKenzie Gore (No. 3 prospect) and the Rays’
Brendan McKay (No. 16). From the right side are
the Tigers’ Casey Mize (No. 7) and the Blue Jays’
Nate Pearson (No. 15).
Mize and McKay were drafted out of high-pro-
file colleges, Pearson was found at a small junior
college in Florida and Gore was plucked from a
North Carolina high school. All four have wowed
evaluators with their combinations of stuff and
poise and have buzzsawed their way through the
competition.
None of the four is likely to overtake Franco for
the top prospect title, but they should all hover in
the top 20 until they graduate and begin to work
toward reaching their lofty ceilings.
MACKENZIE GORE
PROJECTED SCOUTING GRADES
Fastball: 60
Changeup: 60
Curveball: 55
Slider: 50
Control: 60
Gore is the youngest of the bunch and narrowly
has the highest ceiling. Drafted third overall in
2017, his first full test in pro ball was filled with
stutter-stops spurred by blisters that formed on
MAIN: Padres
lefthander
MacKenzie
Gore had
recorded a
1.21 ERA
through 12
starts in the
hitter-friendly
California
League.
SIDE: Brewers
second base-
man Keston
Hiura (top)
and Giants
catcher Joey
Bart would like
to vouch for
the quality of
hitters in the
minors.MID
SEA
SON
TOPOnly prospects in the minor leagues as of
June 10 were considered for the midseason
Top 100 Prospects ranking.
No. Player Pos Team- Wander Franco SS Rays
- Jo Adell OF Angels
- MacKenzie Gore LHP Padres
- Forrest Whitley RHP Astros
- Bo Bichette SS Blue Jays
- Jesus Luzardo LHP Athletics
- Casey Mize RHP Tigers
- Kyle Tucker OF Astros
- Royce Lewis SS Twins
- Alex Kirilloff OF Twins
- Keston Hiura 2B Brewers
- Gavin Lux SS Dodgers
- Joey Bart C Giants
- Luis Robert OF White Sox
- Nate Pearson RHP Blue Jays
- Brendan McKay LHP/DH Rays
- Carter Kieboom SS Nationals
- Sixto Sanchez RHP Marlins
- Mitch Keller RHP Pirates
- A.J. Puk LHP Athletics
- Michael Kopech RHP White Sox
- Dylan Cease RHP White Sox
- Jarred Kelenic OF Mariners
- Matt Manning RHP Tigers
- Luis Urias 2B Padres
THE LIST
TOP 100 PROSPECTSCONTINUED ON PAGE 19
his pitching hand. Though relatively mild as far as
pitcher injuries are concerned, the blisters lim-
ited Gore to just 60.2 innings at low Class A Fort
Wayne in 2018.
Even so, the Padres jumped Gore to the hit-
ters’ paradise of the California League in 2019. He
opened the season as the second-youngest pitcher
on the circuit—trailing only Lake Elsinore team-
mate Luis Patiño—and has been electric all year.
Through his first 11 starts, the 20-year-old
Gore sported a 5-1, 1.21 mark with 83 strikeouts
through 59.2 innings. Both his ERA and 0.69 WHIP
led the league.
Now comes the scary part. Evaluators who have
seen Gore this year believe he has plenty of room
to improve.
“He’s got some things going for him,” one
scout said. “His fastball’s sneaky—his fastball
will play. I’d like to see his slider turn into a cut-
ter to really get in on righties’ hands and really
front-door that cutter to a lefty or backdoor it to a
righty. Use it as a slider, but a thin slider, make it
a cutter, make it firm.
“And then I want his curveball to turn into what
his slider is now, the same basic shape but throw
it a little harder. His curveball was rolling through
the zone at 75 (mph) and it wasn’t good enough;CONTINUED ON PAGE 18