MacKenzie Gore is no longer the best pitcher in the California League.
The Padres have promoted their top pitching prospect to Double-A Amarillo on Tuesday. Gore, 20, was 7-1 with a 1.02 ERA, 110 strikeouts and an 0.71 WHIP in 15 starts at high Single-A Lake Elsinore.
Gore represented the Padres on Sunday in the All-Star Futures Game and was a midseason All-Star in the California League, where he held opposing hitters to a .137 batting average in what has amounted to his first full professional season.
Gore was selected third overall in 2017 but landed on the injured list three times in 2018 due to a bothersome blister on his left middle finger.