As expected, MLB’s opening day was glorious. There were homers and steals and a couple of extra-inning games. Some matches raced over the total, some games stayed under the total. It was a little chilly here and there, but no rain.
In a game and a day about numbers, one stood out to me: 13. That was the strikeout count for Washington lefty, MacKenzie Gore.
Gore didn’t get a win, of course — his 1-0 lead was quickly lost by the Washington bullpen. The Nationals didn’t win the game, either — the Phillies scored a 7-3 victory in 10 innings. But Gore’s pitching line was a thing of beauty: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 13 K. He used 93 pitches, 66 in the zone. He collected 20 swinging strikes, always a sign of pure dominance.
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Here’s the scouting tape, see what you make of it.
Could 2025 be a breakout party for Gore? He’s always had an exciting pedigree. He was the third overall pick in the 2017 draft and a key part of the Juan Soto trade back in August 2022. He’s stepping into his age-26 season. Last summer, Gore nudged his ERA into a playable area for mixed-league managers (3.90), although the WHIP was still a bumpy 1.42. The stat that caught your eye was the 181 strikeouts over 166.1 innings. Focused on Gore’s age and strikeout potential, he was a target for me during this draft season.
Do the rules of signature significance apply to a pitcher recording 13 strikeouts? Including Gore’s gem Thursday, we’ve seen 13 or more whiffs just 75 times since the start of the 2021 season.
Most of the pitchers on that list are stars — 28 of the occurrences came from a pitcher with at least one Cy Young on his mantle. You know their names by heart: Blake Snell, Spencer Strider, Tarik Skubal, Max Scherzer, Clayton Kershaw, Robbie Ray, Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Corbin Burnes, Sandy Alcantara.
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And so many of the non-Cy winners are (or were) legitimate stars, too, names like Dylan Cease, Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Hunter Greene, Michael King, Pablo Lopez, Carlos Rodon, Freddy Peralta, Framber Valdez, Zack Wheeler, Max Fried, Kevin Gausman, Tyler Glasnow, even Shohei Ohtani.
Can a non-star pull off a trick like this? It’s not common. The most ordinary pitchers on the 13-strikeout board, per my estimation, were these guys: Braxton Garrett, DJ Herz, Rich Hill (bless Rich Hill), Cristian Javier (terrific in 2022), Eric Lauer, Patrick Sandoval. Maybe you would include Luis Gil and Yusei Kikuchi on this part of the list, but I wouldn’t — they certainly impressed me last year. I drafted Kikuchi a few times, and Gil would have been a consideration if not for an unfortunate injury.
We know baseball analysis generally demands large samples of data before we make major conclusions. We ponder signature significance every so often because it’s a shortcut — sometimes a singular event has so much magnitude, it can lessen our need for further proof. This can be a social rule, too — if your blind date is rude to the waitstaff at dinner, they’re probably a jerk. You don’t need 10 more dates to figure that one out.
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And shutting down the Phillies is impressive — last year this offense was fifth in runs and fourth in OPS. They weren’t a giveaway in strikeouts, either — ranking middle of the pack. It’s not like Gore took advantage of some cushy draw Thursday; his raw stuff probably would have succeeded anywhere.
Gore was already widely rostered in Yahoo leagues (he’s now at 78%), so this start isn’t an actionable event for most of you. But perhaps 2025 will be the year Gore takes the step from preferred streamer or rotation backfill to set-and-forget status. We’ll give him a dedicated watch next Wednesday when he works in Toronto.
More Opening Day fantasy baseball takeaways
Boston outfielder Wilyer Abreu was a heavily added player in Yahoo fantasy baseball over the last day, on the heels of his two homers and three hits at Texas. I didn’t add him to my rosters myself, noting that he’s probably in a strong-side platoon at best, and he opened the year batting seventh. The Red Sox have a pipeline of talent percolating in the high minors, notably top OF prospect Roman Anthony. If your format isn’t especially deep and allowing of daily switches, Abreu might be best left on the wire. He’s a matchup play.
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Boston’s bullpen also deserves a mention. Aroldis Chapman pitched the eighth at Texas in a tie game — probably because star lefty Corey Seager was leading off — while Justin Slaten worked a clean ninth and earned the save. Slaten is coming off a tidy 2024 season (2.93 ERA, 1.01 WHIP), including an outstanding K/BB rate (58 whiffs, just nine walks). Chapman enters his age-37 season and Liam Hendriks hit the IL after a messy spring. Perhaps Slaten (16% rostered) is the best target in this group. The 2025 Red Sox sure look like a playoff team to me. And when in doubt, stockpile relievers on those winning teams.
Tyler Soderstrom opened the spring on sleeper lists. Now, he’s wide awake in America. Soderstrom conked two home runs — in Seattle, no less — in a 4-2 loss. It’s possible he might pick up catcher eligibility during the year, though part of the pro-Soderstrom angle was the knowledge that he wouldn’t be burdened by catching. Either way, it’s not easy to find inexpensive power at the corners, and the Athletics will get a fairer offensive shake this season from their new (if temporary) Sacramento park. Soderstrom has been actively added but is still free in around 80% of Yahoo leagues.
In some pools, Kyle Manzardo is utility-only. He carries the 1B tag in Yahoo, though. Manzardo made a splash Thursday with three hits, including a homer — and it all came against left-handed pitching. If the Guardians are going to play Manzardo every day and against all pitching, this is one of the easiest breakout calls of the year. He was eagerly added in many pools Thursday, but still waits for your call in 80% of Yahoo leagues.
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[It’s not too late — join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Baseball league for the 2025 MLB season]
Terry Francona openly admitted his closer situation as unsettled to open the year. Alexis Díaz is on the IL, and several candidates looked plausible to step in the ninth. Surprisingly, Ian Gibault received the first look Thursday but wasn’t ready for prime time, allowing four runs, including a three-run homer to Wilmer Flores. Goodbye, ballgame.
Scott Barlow, Emilio Pagan and Tony Santillan worked scoreless innings before Gibault, so they’re the next names of interest if you’re speculating for saves here. Taylor Rogers and Graham Ashcroft didn’t pitch. Because Santillan pitched the eighth inning Thursday and had a solid partial season last year (3.00/1.00, 46 K in 30 innings), he’d be my first guess. But guessing is all we can do with this bullpen right now.
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