Red Sox infield prospect Nick Yorke came through when needed in Double-A Portland’s series-splitting road win over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at Mirabito Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Tied 1-1 going into the seventh inning, Yorke stepped up to the plate with two outs and Corey Rosier representing the potential go-ahead run at second base. Opposed by Rumble Ponies reliever Daison Acosta, Yorke worked a 2-1 count before drilling the fourth pitch he saw through the left side of the infield and into left field.
Rosier scored easily from second to put the Sea Dogs up 2-1, which would go on to be Sunday’s final score as Portland put an end to a three-game losing streak. Yorke, who reached base four times in total after being hit by a pitch in the ninth inning, finished the day going 3-for-4 with that clutch RBI single, a double, and a stolen base out of the two-spot.
Despite the fact that the Sea Dogs dropped three straight at one point, it was an all-around impressive week at the plate for Yorke in Binghamton. Including Sunday’s three-hit showing, the right-handed hitting second baseman went 8-for-21 (.381) with two doubles, one home run, seven RBIs, three runs scored, tw0 stolen bases, two walks, and four strikeouts while appearing in five games.
After a tepid July in which he missed time due to lower body soreness and produced a .617 OPS in 14 games, Yorke — who represented the Red Sox at last month’s All-Star Futures Game in Seattle — has bounced back nicely in August. Over his last 14 games dating back to the first of the month, the 21-year-old is batting .305/.379/.525 with four doubles, three homers, 11 RBIs, 10 runs scored, four stolen bases, five walks, and 12 strikeouts across 66 trips to the plate.
On the 2023 campaign — his first with Portland — as a whole, Yorke has slashed a respectable .275/.352/.456 with 18 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 54 runs driven in, 61 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, 40 walks, and 102 strikeouts in 91 games (420 plate appearances) for the Sea Dogs . It is worth noting that he has put up those numbers while being one of the youngest players to swing a bat at the Double-A level this year.
Among qualified hitters in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League, Yorke ranks 26th in strikeout rate (24.3 percent), ninth in batting average, 20th in on-base percentage, 14th in slugging percentage, 12th in OPS (.808), 17th in isolated power (.181), 14th in speed score (6.3), 21st in line-drive rate (19.9 percent), and 14th in wRC+ (120), per FanGraphs.
On the other side of the ball, Yorke has unsurprisingly seen all of his playing time this season come at second base. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder has logged a team-leading 673 2/3 innings at the keystone and has committed four errors in 305 defensive chances.
Yorke, the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s farm system according to Baseball America’s latest rankings, was originally taken by the Red Sox with the 17th overall pick in the COVID-shortened 2020 draft out of Archbishop Mitty High School (San Jose, Calif.). That selection was met with plenty of surprise, as most publications at the time did not view Yorke as a first-round talent. Nevertheless, the Newport Beach native forwent his commitment to Arizona by signing with the club for an under-slot $2.7 million.
After bursting onto the scene in his professional debut in 2021, Yorke dealt with a plethora of injuries while with High-A Greenville in 2022 and saw his offensive production take a hit as a result. Limited to just 80 games due to turf toe, back stiffness, and left wrist soreness, Yorke struggled to a .232/.303/.365 slash line when on the field.
Rather than lick his wounds and rest after a disappointing season, though, Yorke elected to play for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. Able to work with Red Sox hitting coordinator Lance Zawadski and Triple-A Worcester assistant hitting coach Mike Montville (who was also serving as a hitting coach for Scottsdale), Yorke altered his swing mechanics and got back on track in the desert. He hit .342/.424/.526 with eight doubles, two homers, and 18 RBIs in 19 games (92 plate appearances) and earned AFL All-Star honors for his efforts.
Nearly a year later, it appears as though Yorke has gotten back to the point where he can be viewed as one of the top second base prospects in baseball. As such, it should be interesting to see if Yorke can garner consideration for a promotion to Worcester before the minor-league season comes to a close.
As things stand now, the WooSox already have a very crowded infield mix that features Christian Arroyo, Yu Chang, David Hamilton, and Enmanuel Valdez as potential options at second base. Still, if the Red Sox feel it would be best for his development moving forward, they presumably would not waste any time in having Yorke make the jump to Triple-A.
(Picture of Nick Yorke: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)
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