Nick Yorke Portland Sea Dogs Second Base

       
 
Age: 21
Born: April 2, 2002
Birthplace: Newport Beach, CA
Height: 5-11 
Weight: 200
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
   
Drafted: 1st round, 2020 by BOS
How Acquired: Draft
College: (Arizona commit)
High School: Archbishop Mitty HS (CA)
ETA: Late 2024

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
Rule 5 Draft Eligible: December 2024
MLFA Eligible: November 2027
   
Pro Debut: May 4, 2021 (Salem)
Added to 40-man: -
MLB Debut: -
Service Time (1/23): 0 days
Options Remaining: 3 (0 used)
Contract (2023): MiLB contract
   
Twitter: @nickyorke2
Instagram: @nick.yorke

 
 
 
 
 
     
  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. Some remaining projection, mainly in his upper body, and could stand to add some strength.

Hit: Typically has started open with his hands by his chest. In 2022 Arizona Fall League, experimented with starting with his hands up and bat pointed behind him before getting to the same load position. Utilizes a slight leg lift timing device. Advanced hit tool. Strong feel for hit. Has bat speed and a very fluid, compact swing. Two-handed finish. Good barrel control. Advanced approach for his age. Willing to use all fields, but did get pull happy in 2022 at times as he tinkered with his mechanics. Good separation in his swing. Makes good swing decisions and rarely expands the zone. Consistently makes solid contact. Has shown the ability to turn on velocity up in the zone already. Potential plus hit tool.

Power: Average raw power. In-game power is still developing, but should get to fringe-average at least. Has shown the ability to impact the baseball. Power potential is somewhat limited by swing path, which is more designed for hard line drives.

Run: Fringe-average speed. Plays faster than his raw speed due to baserunning instincts. Could get slower as he ages.

Field: Fringe-average 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. Potential fringe-average defender.

Arm: Fringe-average arm strength.
  Career Notes: Mother was a four-time All-American softball player at Fresno State. First came onto the system's radar because of Fresno State connection between his mother and scout Josh Labandeira. Brothers Joe and Zach play college baseball at Cal Poly-SLO (after transferring from Boise State when that school cut its baseball program) and Grand Canyon University, respectively. 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 amateur scouting department was convinced both that he would have been more generally regarded as a first-round talent but for the cancellation of the spring season and that he would not have been available with the team's next pick, 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. 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 popped up during the Arizona Fall League, costing him about another week. Unclear to what degree the injuries contributed to his down season at the plate, but certainly contributed somewhat.

Summation: Potential bat-first utility type. Ceiling of an everyday regular. 2022 was a step back, but could partially be attributed to injuries. At his best, he has one of the most advanced hit tools in the system and one of the most polished in all of minor league baseball. Outstanding makeup and work ethic. Does not project to add much value defensively. Bat would be more valuable at second base, but will potentially play pretty much anywhere if he is unable to stick there. Injury history is somewhat concerning, and will need to be monitored after an injury-plagued 2022.

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     stats                            
   
     
  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)
 
   

   
     
 
 
 
     
 
Copyright © 2003-2023 SoxProspects, LLC
All Rights Reserved.
email: info@soxprospects.com
SoxProspects.com is not affiliated with the Boston Red Sox,
Worcester Red Sox, Portland Sea Dogs, Greenville Drive,
Salem Red Sox, or Major League Baseball.
.