2014 Prospect Countdown: #34 Terrance Gore

34. Terrance Gore Outfielder

www.milb.com

Age: 22
Position: OF
Height: 5-7
Weight: 165
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Drafted in the 20th Round of 2011 Amateur Draft
From: Macon, GA

2013 Rank: NR

2012 Rank: 31

Landon Adams (NR): Terrance Gore had what many would consider to be a disappointing 2013 campaign. Despite improving his line drive percentage from 7.8% to 15.3% his BABIP dropped from .331 to .293. Hopefully, his BABIP will equalize and he will continue to improve upon his ability to square the ball up. Joe hits it on the head, Gore needs to stick in center to have a shot in the Majors. The fact that he played so many games in left has a lot to do with Bubba Starling, but I worry that it could also be a hint that he has a weak arm. 

Paden Bennett (NR): Terrance Gore is fast.  Terrance Gore is fast.  Really there isn't a ton to say about Gore other than he is fast.  The problem is you can't steal first base and Gore doesn't hit his way on first very often with a .215 average last year.  One thing Gore will do which this organization doesn't necessarily care about (but I do) is the ability to draw walks.  Gore compiled an 11.5% walk rate which is very encouraging.  His OBP was 120 points higher than his batting average which is awesome.  If Gore could just learn to hit in the .240-.260 range and play CF then I could see him making the majors at some point.  Think how many bases he could steal if he improved his average to .240-.260 while maintaining or improving his walk rate.  He stole 68 bags last year, let's hope Gore does improve his average and goes for 100.

Joe Cox (22): Terrance Gore is considered one of the fastest players in professional baseball.  He showcased said speed last season compiling 68 stolen bases playing for class A Lexington.  What the 22 year old outfielder failed to do was hit.  Gore has decreased all of his triple slash numbers since his debut in 2011.  Last year he slashed .215/.334/.242 in 541 PA’s.  The positive from that line comes from the over 100 point difference between his BA and OBP, as his 11.5% walk rate is very solid (22.2% K rate, however).  His slugging percentage is very weak, as Gore only managed 9 extra base hits in 2013.  He has never hit a professional home run.  

Surprisingly, Gore only managed a BABIP of .293 last year.  I could not find batted ball data but considering his speed and the assumption that he tries to keep the ball on the ground that could be a little fluky, but not to the point of trusting his hit tool.  Based on his other tools, he could move up the system and become a speedster on a MLB bench, but it seems doubtful unless we see a major turnaround at the plate.  Another slight concern, though I don’t know the whole story, is that he played majority of his games in left field last season; he would have to be able to play a plus center field to ever have any chance of reaching the majors.  Chances are he starts the season back in A-ball.

Dan Ware (NR): While playing for Lexington this past season, Gore easily displayed his strengths and weaknesses as a 22 year old outfielder.  Each of his last 2 seasons, his slash lines have decreased noticeably.  Last year, his worst as a pro, was .215/.334/.242 with 24 RBI and 9 XBH. Although his OBP was just barely above the South Atlantic League median, his BA and SLG were well below.  Predominately a ground ball hitter, he managed to double his line drive percentage to 15.3%, while racking up an ugly K rate of 22.2%.  Like Joe mentioned, he produced a .293 BABIP, which leaves his career rate at .322, which isn't uncommon, considering fast players will usually have high BABIP rates, as well as line drive balls usually land for hits more often than ground balls and ground balls usually go for more hits than fly balls. On the plus side, J.J. Picollo, Assistant GM for the Royals, rates Gore's speed at "probably 90 or 100" on the 20-80 scale, which is...fast. If he puts in some hard work this winter and spring on hitting, imagine what he could do at the plate. It will be no surprise to see him in a Lexington uniform for a second straight year.

Total Points: 9