Boston Red Sox Prospects: Who should be “untouchable” in trades?
By Hunter Noll
Red Sox third-ranked prospect, Nick Yorke (second base)
Nick Yorke was the Red Sox first-round pick back in 2020 and boy was it a wild one. A lot of fans immediately started questioning the move. 17th overall was far too early for Yorke, who might not have even been a first-round pick.
Boston knew who they wanted though, and weren’t going to risk him not being there by the time they made their next selection.
How did Yorke repay them? By raking immediately. 2021 started off slow for about a month in Low-A. After that though, the right-handed hitter became one of their most consistently elite hitters for the rest of the year. He finished 2021 with a .325/.412/.516 slash line, smashing 20 doubles, five triples, and 14 home runs. Even more impressive, the second baseman had 62 RBI and 76 runs scored. Throw in his 13 steals and that’s crazy run production in just 97 games.
Now 20 for all of 2022, Yorke hasn’t had the same success in High-A. He holds a .245/.319/.361 slash line with five doubles and four home runs. It’s not nearly as bad as it looks though. Yorke has been making good contact, with plenty of loud outs. One of those situations where you feel like at some point, the ball has to stop finding gloves. The other day he took literally the first pitch of the game 400 feet deep to straightaway center. But it was caught right at the wall.
Yorke isn’t really having strikeout issues, and he walks a decent amount. So the start to 2022 is no cause for concern.
What Boston has in the California product is an insanely professional hitter. Solid defense with decent speed. But that bat could be something special. At such a young age with little experience, he tends to look like a veteran at the plate. There’s something special there. And this could be the beginning of Chaim Bloom’s “look at the prospects I can find” promotional tour. The Red Sox shouldn’t give Yorke up unless they are getting some wild return.