He was the untouchable one, MacKenzie Gore. The left-handed pitcher was long considered the top prospect in the Padres organization. He was off limits, lap after lap — protected in trade chatter like the main vault at Fort Knox.
Gore, at 23, finally seemed to be coming into his own with the team that scooped him up at No. 3 overall in the 2017 draft. He had sidestepped nagging control issues, as well as San Diego's most loathed blister.
In the first nine games of this season, Gore seemed a near-certain contender for NL Rookie of the Year with a 1.50 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 48 innings. This, the Padres thought, was the intersection of patience and production that would make all that time and tinkering worth it.
