Nick Yorke Reinvigorates Stock In Red Sox System With Improved Year

READING, Pa. -- Nick Yorke entered professional baseball in the middle of a global pandemic when the Boston Red Sox selected him with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.

The high school prospect out of California came into the system with rave reviews about his plate discipline and the ability to put together quality at-bats.

Yorke lived up to those projections with a standout first full professional season, slashing .325/.412/.516 with a .928 OPS in 97 games in 2021 between Low-A Salem and High-A Greenville.

In 2022, the infielder battled injuries and took a step back at the plate in a frustrating year with the Portland Sea Dogs. Yorke set out to reset and get back on track for 2023.

"I think for me it was just being healthy," Yorke told NESN.com when the Sea Dogs visited the Reading Fightin Phils last week. "I got two weeks off after the season. Got to spend time with my people back home and kind of reset a little bit and get back after it."

That started with a better end to 2022 in the Arizona Fall League where he thrived with family in attendance and hit .342 in his return to the West Coast.

"It was good to play baseball back on the West Coast," Yorke said. "That was my first time playing pro ball in front of my grandma because I'm completely on the opposite side of the country. Just being able to play in front of my friends and family again was just good for the mental to get out there and start playing."

Throughout the winter, Yorke had a chance to recondition his body for a full season and return of his offensive approach centered around quality at-bats.

"It was more of building off of the Fall League and continuing that into the offseason," Yorke recalled. "Continuing what I was working on there. Just going into the spring and going into here, everything I'm about is staying healthy and being on the field and getting consistent playing time. That was a big focus of mine. Going into the offseason with hitting and defense. Just trying to build off the Fall League. In terms of conditioning, it was all about keeping my body strong enough to maintain 140 games."

After the highs of 2021 and the lows of 2022, 2023 offered an improved middle ground for the first pick of the Chaim Bloom era. Yorke's OPS is over 100 points higher than it was a year ago. In the final week of the season, the 21-year-old is slashing .272/.354/.446 with 13 home runs and an .800 OPS for Double-A Portland.

"I think this year it started to even out," Yorke said. "I still think there is a lot of room for improvement. I don't feel like I've fully found myself in the box swing-wise, if that makes sense. I'm super excited for what that brings when I can find it to be able to produce when I'm not at my best. I feel like I'm going to be a lot better. I could be a lot better than I am right now and already having a decent year."

The 2023 season offered more growth beyond the diamond. Yorke credits this year with a chance to reflect on himself as a person and how he develops with the people around him.

"It's just building and continuing to find out who I am as a person, a baseball player, a teammate," Yorke added. "Just continue to learn and grow with my guys here because a lot these guys I feel like I'm going to play with in the big leagues. Just continuing relationships. Learning from guys and just building off each other."

With previous injuries in mind, strength and conditioning is an even bigger priority for Boston's No. 6 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, to further elevate his game.

"For me, I feel like it's all about getting stronger and faster," Yorke explained. "I believe that if I can turn those 12 stolen bases that I have right now into 20, 25 stolen bases in the future, that can only help. Some of those balls that I'm hitting off the wall for doubles turn into homers if I'm a little bit stronger."

Yorke also looks to grow at the plate with a new group of support within the Red Sox system.

"Hitting-wise, Jason Ochart just took over as our hitting coordinator who does a lot of stuff with Driveline and Batspeed," Yorke said. "For the offseason, I'm going to be out in Florida. We're going to be working on that. Like they say, if you get your bat speed up, you're only going to impact the ball even harder and hit it even further. That's going to be a big goal of mine this offseason to where I'm not so much changing my approach but those balls I'm hitting off the wall are getting out without me having to do anything more."

The 2023 campaign marked a bounce-back effort from Yorke as he looks to continue that consistency into his fourth professional season in 2024.