Boston Red Sox prospect Nick Yorke is healthy and heating up
It’s been a tough year for Boston Red Sox prospect Nick Yorke.
Following a breakout campaign in 2021 when he slashed .325/.412/.516 as a 19-year-old between Low-A and High-A, he became seen as a very obvious part of the franchise’s future.
2022 has been very different. Yorke has dealt with a number of injuries that forced him to have a lot of stop-start to his season. It’s also forced him to play through injury sometimes. Limited to 32 at-bats in June and 42 in July, he went 15-for-74 (.203) in those two months. When watching him, it’s been clear he wasn’t at 100% very often to this point.
Yorke came into their August 6 game hitting .223/.296/.335. The right-handed hitter went 3-for-5 with a home run that night. It was a glimpse of hope. The problem was that Yorke had done this a few times throughout the season. He’d have a big game and you’d wonder, “is he back to the dominant player we saw 2021?” Then he’d hit another rough stretch with more injuries.
Yorke’s next game actually did end up being an 0-for-4 night. However, the second baseman went 2-for-5 with a double on Tuesday. He followed that up on Wednesday with a 2-for-4 night. Yorke had a walk, a home run, two runs scored, and he tied a season-high four RBI in one game. The second baseman even made a nice play on the field.
To be fair to Yorke, he wasn’t seen as a defensive wizard when he was drafted. But outside of a rough first month, he’s been almost perfect.
Nick Yorke had eight errors in the first 14 games of his career at second base (122 innings) - through May 25, 2021.
— Hunter Noll (@Hunter_Noll) August 11, 2022
He's had one error in 120 games at the position since (1,045 2/3 innings).
That includes ZERO errors in 49 games (426 innings) at second base this season.
Now we’re seeing him start to get the swing back. It’s clear that Yorke is finally healthy again; not only does the swing look better, but he’s hitting the ball harder and it’s getting distance again. That pop that led to a .516 slugging percentage is working it’s way back. Despite an 0-for-4 in the mix, Yorke’s last four games have done wonders for him.
The slash line has jumped from .223/.296/.335 to .235/.304/.367. In four games this late in the season, that’s pretty impressive. It’s also important to remember that Yorke is only 20 years old and he’s often facing pitchers who are older and more experienced.
Sure, the overall numbers don’t look great yet. But we’re seeing a healthy Yorke for the first time in months. And he’s reminding everyone what made him so special. The Greenville Drive still have 29 games left on their schedule, plenty of time for Yorke to boost his numbers a little more and send everyone into the offseason with positive memories of his year.
2022 hasn’t been the best year for Yorke so far, but he’s finally healthy, and it shows.