MacKenzie Gore

Part of the Nationals' return from the Padres for Juan Soto in August of 2022, Gore is coming off a good-not-great first full MLB season. Well, it wasn't actually a completely full season because the Nats shut him down in early September due to a blister on his left index finger. That's a non-issue now, though, and the young southpaw will be looking to build this year on the things he did best in 2023. One of the hardest-throwing lefties in the sport, Gore used his fastball and power slider to strike out 151 batters over 136.1 innings, delivering a 26.0 strikeout percentage that ranked top-20 among the 87 big-league pitchers who logged more than 130 innings last year. If he can rein in his command and find more trust in the other elements of his five-pitch arsenal, the groundwork will be laid for Gore to quickly rise up the ranks of dependable fantasy starters. At the moment, the dependability is still a bit in question. Read Past Outlooks