Nick Yorke   Second Base-Left Field

       
 
Born: April 2, 2002
Birthplace: Newport Beach, CA
Height: 6-0 
Weight: 200
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
   
Drafted: 1st round, 2020 by BOS
How Acquired: Draft
College: (Arizona commit)
High School: Archbishop Mitty HS (CA)

Photo © Kelly O'Connor
Nick Yorke photos by Kelly O'Connor
Pronunciation: York
First Pro Contract: July 7, 2020 (BOS)
Signing Scout: Josh Labandeira
Signing Bonus: $2,700,000
   
Pro Debut: May 4, 2021 (Salem)
MLB Debut: September 16, 2024 (PIT)
   
Twitter:
Instagram: @nick.yorke


Traded to Pittsburgh for Quinn Priester (July 2024)
 
 
 
 
 
     
  Scouting Report & Links      
         
  Physical Description: Sturdy frame. Filled out for his age. Thick lower half. Lost 25 pounds between his draft year and first full pro season. Minimal remaining projection, but could stand to add some strength.

Hit: Typically has started open with his hands by his chest, but has tinkered with his stance and hitting mechanics often and significantly in the past couple years. In 2022 Arizona Fall League, experimented with starting with his hands up and bat pointed behind him before getting to the same load position. Tried that in early 2023 as well, but reverted back to his setup with his hands by his shoulders and a quieter load midyear. Utilizes a slight leg lift timing device. Solid feel for hit. Has bat speed and a fluid, compact swing. Two-handed finish. Good barrel control. Willing to use all fields, but did get pull-happy in 2022 at times as he tinkered with his mechanics. Has become more susceptible to breaking pitches down in the zone and struggled against fastballs in the zone as he has moved through the system. Needs to show the ability to make more consistent contact on pitches in the zone to reach his potential, especially against advanced pitching. Potential average hit tool.

Power: Average raw power. Has shown the ability to impact the baseball. Power potential is somewhat limited by his swing path, which is more designed for hard line drives, but has shown the ability to drop the barrel and drive the ball with backspin. Potential fringe-average in-game power.

Run: Below-average speed. Solid baserunning instincts. Could get slower as he ages.

Field: Fringy range, but has soft hands. Can be robotic at times and a little stiff. Comfortable charging the ball and throwing on the run. Has a chance to stick at second base, but will never be a standout defender. Played shortstop in high school but moved to second base after signing. Began to work out at left field in spring training 2024 to increase his versatility. Still a work in progress in the outfield. Played a significant amount of left field after promotion to Worcester in large part because of the team’s roster makeup. Potential fringe-average defender at second.

Arm: Fringe-average arm strength.

  Career Notes: Mother was a four-time All-American softball player at Fresno State. Came onto the organization’s radar because of Fresno State connection between his mother and scout Josh Labandeira. His two brothers both play/played college baseball: Joe finished his career at Cal Poly-SLO after transferring from Boise State when that school cut its baseball program, while brother Zach plays at Grand Canyon University. Had shoulder surgery before his junior year and was limited to DH duty that spring while his shoulder healed. Selection in the first round surprised many and defied public draft rankings, but Red Sox were convinced both that he would have been regarded as a first-round talent if he had a full spring season and that he would not have been available when the team picked next in the third round. Was added to the Club Player Pool very late in the 2020 season, impressing with quality at-bats against much older competition in about a week-and-a-half at the Alternate Training Site. Participated in the 2020 Fall Instructional League. Participated in the 2021 Fall Performance Program. Participated in 2022 Winter Warm-Up. Entered the 2022 season as a consensus top 50 prospect in the game. Struggled through multiple injuries in 2022, missing roughly a week-and-a-half in May/June with turf toe, two weeks in June due to back stiffness, and another two weeks in July with left wrist soreness that briefly returned during the Arizona Fall League, costing him about another week. Unclear to what degree the injuries contributed to his down season. Had a healthy, fairly uneventful 2023 in which he played in the Futures Game and regained some of his prospect stock. Participated in the Red Sox Rookie Development Program in January 2024. Was promoted to Worcester midway through the 2024 season, largely due his having reached 700 plate appearances in Double-A, and produced significantly improved results at the plate.

Summation: Potential bat-first bench-utility type. Ceiling of a second division regular. Lacks the impact on offense to make up for his defense and hold down an everyday role. Will bring a hit-over-power approach on offense. 2022 was a step back after his breakout 2021 season, but that could partially be attributed to injuries and he bounced back reasonably well in 2023. 2024 started slow, but improved after a promotion to Worcester. Could be a candidate for a change of scenery, especially because future fit on Boston roster is unclear. Tools are not loud, but if he can retain his contact ability against advanced pitching, has the potential for roughly average hit and power tools. Does not project to add much value defensively, but has improved to the point where he can be passable at second base and should eventually get to that level in left field as well. Bat would be more valuable at second base, but will potentially play elsewhere if he is unable to stick there, and his work at other positions has been intended to give him more of a chance to fit on a major league roster. Injury history is somewhat concerning and will need to be monitored throughout his career.

Links
Red Sox select Nick Yorke with 17th overall pick (6.10.20)
Video from Pawtucket (9.22.2020)
Scout Chatter (11.24.2020)
Scouting Report Update (3.10.2021)
Notes from the Field (5.15.2022)
Countdown to Spring Training (3.13.2023)
Spring Training Video (3.22.2023)
 
   
     
    Hitting Stats                                          
  year team lg level org age g ab r h 2b 3b hr rbi tb bb so sb cs avg obp slg ops
2017 Archbishop Mitty HS HS --- 15 31 100 23 23 7 0 0 9 30 19 6 6 6 0.370 0.475 0.440 0.915
  2018 Archbishop Mitty HS HS --- 16 28 79 30 39 18 0 2 22 63 13 11 7 2 0.494 0.590 0.797 1.387
  2019 Archbishop Mitty HS HS --- 17 30 99 38 50 9 3 7 40 86 17 8 11 2 0.505 0.587 0.868 1.456
  2020 Archbishop Mitty HS HS --- 18 5 15 9 8 1 0 2 6 12 4 1 3 0 0.533 0.632 1.000 1.632
  2020 Season Cancelled --- --- Bos 18 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
  2021 Salem Red Sox LAE A Bos 19 76 294 59 95 14 4 10 47 147 41 47 11 8 0.323 0.414 0.500 0.913
  2021 Greenville Drive HAE A+ Bos 19 21 84 17 28 6 1 4 15 48 11 22 2 1 0.333 0.406 0.571 0.978
2022 Greenville DrIve SAL A+ Bos 20 80 337 48 78 10 1 11 45 123 33 94 8 4 0.232 0.303 0.365 0.668
  2022 Scottsdale Scorpions AFL Fall Bos 20 19 76 18 26 8 0 2 18 40 12 16 1 0 0.342 0.424 0.526 0.950
2023 Portland Sea Dogs East AA Bos 21 110 444 74 119 25 5 13 61 193 51 122 18 5 0.268 0.350 0.435 0.784
2024 Portland Sea Dogs East AA Bos 22 45 175 21 44 8 0 4 27 64 18 36 8 2 0.251 0.325 0.366 0.691
2024 Worcester Red Sox IL AAA Bos 22 38 145 32 45 8 0 6 19 71 24 32 6 1 0.310 0.408 0.490 0.898
  2024 Indianapolis Indians IL AAA Pit 22 40 152 26 54 17 0 2 26 66 18 33 7 4 0.355 0.431 0.507 0.938
  2024 Pittsburgh Pirates NL MLB Pit 22 11 37 4 8 0 0 2 5 14 4 12 2 4 0.216 0.286 0.378 0.664
   
     
  Advanced Stats & Splits
   
     
  Awards   SoxProspects.com Awards  
  2018 WCAL MVP
Low-A East Player of the Week (August 16-22, 2021)
Low-A East Player of the Month (August 2021)
2021 Red Sox Minor League Offensive Player of the Year
2021 Low-A East Postseason All-Star
2023 Futures Game All-Star
2023 Portland Sea Dogs Most Valuable Player
  2021 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (August 2-8, 2021)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (August 16-22, 2021)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Month (August 2021)
2021 SoxProspects.com All-Star
2021 SoxProspects.com Player of the Year
2021 SoxProspects.com Rookie of the Year
2022 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week (April 24-30, 2023)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Month (April 2023)
2023 SoxProspects.com All-Star
2024 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star 
 
   

   
     
 
 
 
     
 
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