Chris Paddack earned a nod as one of the minors’ top pitching prospects last year before winning a big league job the following spring training.
Perhaps MacKenzie Gore is next.
The Padres’ 20-year-old left-hander was named the staff pick for MiLB.com’s Starting Pitcher of the Year MiLBY. The Royals’ Kris Bubic was the fan choice.
Already named MLB Pipeline’s Pitcher of the Year, Gore led the minors with a 1.69 ERA (100 IP min.) and an 0.83 WHIP, was second in opponent average (.164), third in strikeout-to-walk rate (28.3 percent) and fifth in strikeout rate (35.