Former first-round pick Yorke back on track after nightmare year
Nick Yorke came into last season riding high. The former first-round pick had enjoyed a spectacular first year of professional baseball and was now set to take the next step upon earning a promotion to High-A Greenville.
Then, it seemed like everything that could have possibly gone wrong did.
“I ended up jamming my wrist when I was diving so I couldn’t swing for a couple of weeks, I had a back spasm so I was out for a couple weeks with that, I had turf toe so I couldn’t walk on my foot for a week,” Yorke said prior to a recent game. “So it was something constant, little things here and there.”
Yorke’s production cratered amid the seemingly never-ending run of injuries, and so did his standing within the wider prospect community. But now back to full health, the 21-year-old second baseman has put his 2022 struggles behind him and is once again looking like one of Boston’s most promising young players.
Since earning a promotion to Double-A Portland out of spring training Yorke has been among the most prolific offensive producers for a club that ranks first in the Eastern League Northeast standings. Entering Friday he was batting .269 with six home runs, 17 RBI and an .873 OPS through his first 35 games with the Sea Dogs.
Those may not be quite the numbers he put up during his electric 2021 pro debut, when he slashed .325/.412/.516 with 14 home runs and 62 RBI as a 19-year-old, but they’re a whole lot better than last year’s comparatively dismal .232/.303/.365 showing.
The big difference? Staying on the field.
“I was playing a couple days, a couple weeks, then I was out a couple weeks, so it was tough trying to get my groove,” Yorke said. “This year I’ve focused on being on the field, staying healthy, doing what I can for my body and making sure I can stay on the field and the consistent playing time of being in there every day has been good.”
There have been other factors at play, too. Yorke spent time after the season playing in the Arizona Fall League, where he finished the year off on a high note, and Red Sox director of player development Brian
Abraham noted that Yorke has also incorporated a number of mechanical adjustments while working to improve his bat speed and overall athleticism.
“I think all of those things combined, along with the added confidence and feeling comfortable mechanically, feeling comfortable physically, has allowed for more consistent ability to hit the ball hard to all fields,” Abraham said.
That confidence has been evident to his teammates, many of whom were by his side during his worst days last season.
“He’s very strong mentally right now. He’s grown a lot since I last played with him last year in Greenville,” said fellow prospect Ceddanne Rafaela. “Now you see he’s enjoying the game, he’s just being himself. He’s one of the best hitters I’ve seen, so it’s special to be around him again.”
Turbulent as the journey has been at times, Yorke is now back on schedule and again looks like a possible second baseman of the future. A big league arrival at some point in 2024 seems possible, but while the club is happy with Yorke’s progress Abraham said they want him getting more at bats in Double-A while working on his bat to ball ability and pull-side power.
“I don’t think Nick or any of our hitters are going to be impact players at the big leagues if they’re just hitting singles all over the field, they need to hit the ball hard and hit the ball in the air and do damage,” Abraham said. “Once you get that bat to ball and those foundational things prepared at the upper levels, those are the type of smaller areas we’re trying to improve upon.”
For his part, Yorke said he’s excited to be in Portland but that he’s in no position to start coasting. He vowed to keep working as hard as he can until he finally achieves his big league dreams, and Abraham believes the way he’s handled the early adversity is a good indicator he has the right mindset to make those dreams come true.
“One of the things I really like is he said no one is going to care about some struggles he had in High-A when he’s in the big leagues,” Abraham said. “I think that mindset and that approach of challenging himself to get better every day is something he’s really embraced and has been really good to see.”