PEORIA, Ariz. —
As a big-league team headed nowhere prepared to depart Peoria Sports Complex for the final time in March 2018, the rest of the Padres organization was watching the future face off.
In the batter’s box was 19-year-old Fernando Tatis Jr. On the pitcher’s mound was 19-year-old MacKenzie Gore. In the stands were the team’s two principal owners, members of the front office and various other personnel from the player development department.
Gore threw his first pitch, a fastball, to the tall shortstop who would soon be considered the most prized prospect in all of baseball.