The Boston Red Sox may have surprised some MLB analysts with their first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, but it wasn’t a shock to one of most prominent coaches in college baseball.
University of Vanderbilt head baseball coach Tim Corbin explained why he wasn’t as caught off guard as others when the Red Sox selected 18-year-old infielder Nick Yorke at No. 17 overall. Corbin, speaking to MLB Network, said Yorke was a player Vanderbilt recruited heavily before Yorke committed to the University of Arizona.
Yorke was drafted out of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, Calif.
“It wasn’t a surprise to me,” Corbin said.. “We really recruited that kid. I thought he was the best hitter in high school baseball. This is a kid that has extreme hit skill, he’s strong…”
Vandy coach says he thought Yorke was the best hitter in high school baseball pic.twitter.com/uHP1hcwNz7
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) June 11, 2020
That’s pretty high praise from the all-time winningest coach (753-359-1) in Vanderbilt history. Vanderbilt has won two national championships in the previous seven seasons, with 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths.
Perhaps that’s why Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom seems extremely confident in the player, and why one MLB writer believes Yorke will be the first of the four 2020 draft picks to reach Boston.
