Boston Red Sox prospect Nick Yorke talks trade rumors, his brothers, and more.

Image courtesy of Kelly O’Connor

Nick Yorke has had one of the strangest paths I've ever seen in the minor leagues. The Boston Red Sox selected him 17th overall in the 2020 MLB Draft. With it being 2020, there was no MiLB season. So Yorke had to wait until the next year to make his debut.

Starting in Single-A (Salem), the right-handed hitting second baseman tore up pitchers for 76 games. He then ripped apart High-A pitching for 21 games to end the year. Yorke finished with a .325/.412/.516 slash line in his first season in the minor leagues.

However, the 2022 season was a tough one. Yorke dealt with injuries (mainly a wrist problem) and put up rough numbers (.231/.303/.365) in 80 games in High-A.

Somewhat surprisingly to many, Yorke started 2023 in Double-A. He had a fantastic bounce-back season while spending the entire year as just a 21-year-old.

It was surprising to see a young Yorke start 2023 in Double-A after struggling the previous year in High-A. However, it was probably even more shocking to see him start 2024 in Double-A again instead of Triple-A.

Yorke was solid with Portland for the first two months of the season. There were ups and downs. He wasn't blowing anyone away with his surface stats, leading to some fans questioning him. However, the reports were that people within the organization loved the underlying numbers. They saw what they needed to see, and Yorke got a promotion to Triple-A.

In 31 games with Worcester, Yorke has proven them right. The California product is slashing .333/.427/.528 with six doubles and six home runs. He's driven in 17 runs, scored 31 more, and is 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts. Yorke's walked nearly as much (20) as he's struck out (26).

All that while continuing to play great defense at second base, and constantly improving in left field. I'll continue to beat the "Nick Yorke is a great defensive second baseman" drum.

We caught up with the prospect to talk about his season, his journey, trade rumors, and more. In doing so, Yorke once again proves to be one of the most likable people in the organization.

Q: On the "Section 10" Podcast you talked about how rankings don't bother you and how you don't focus on that. But do you ever get frustrated when people try to discredit you?

"I mean, trying to discredit me? For sure. You don't want people trying to discredit you. But at the end of the day, everyone has a right to their own opinion. I can't control or do anything about that, so I'm just going to keep rolling."

Q: You've heated up in Triple-A and that's ignited a lot of trade rumors around you. There are talks of improving the big league club, and a lot of the proposed made-up trades tend to have you in them. Is that something you've noticed or is it in your head?

"I wouldn't say it's in my head, but it's definitely something I've noticed. I used to have a Twitter. In 2021 I would get tagged multiple times every day in a new trade so I had to delete Twitter. And that's why I'm off Twitter. At the end of the day, though, I can do what I can do to play the game as hard as I can.

I do whatever I can to help the team that I'm on win, no matter where. It was in Portland earlier this year, now it's here in the Woo. So I'm just going to do everything I can no matter what team I'm on to just bust my ass. At the end of the day, I feel like if I do that, everything else will take care of itself.

That's pretty much what I try to focus on because it's pretty easy to get caught up in the other stuff. Especially being as involved in it as my name gets thrown around. So I just try to focus on the right things."

Q: How has left field felt for you so far?

"It's been great. I played a little bit of outfield growing up, in high school, and other stuff. But I've never played left so getting over there has been pretty cool. It's been fun."

Q: How did that come about? Did they come up to you in the offseason? Did you volunteer?

"I was actually in the rookie camp out at Fenway at the time we traded for Vaughn [Grissom]. So I brought it up to them saying I played outfield in High School. Just trying to get myself another opportunity. I felt good at second base. I think I made about 11 errors in my first seven games ever in 2021 (we then went back and forth about his errors in those games and how he was nearly perfect for a long time after that).

I felt pretty comfortable, even though I'm not known for my defense, because of the first couple of years I had over there. Over the last two to three years in Greenville and Portland, I felt really good over at second base.

So it was more of like hey I feel comfortable over here and I feel like if I even do play like four to five times a week I still feel like I won't lose a step and can add to my belt by playing some outfield as well.

At the end of the day, I think it's going to help me. Playing multiple positions gets you in the lineup more often, so that's kind of the way I look at it."

Q: Zach (younger brother) is listed at 6'2", 275 lbs. Joe (older brother) is listed at 6'3", 270 lbs. You're listed at 6'0", 200 lbs. Were you not eating enough protein?

"[Laughs] So that's where it struggles because they are humongous. But I don't think I'm a small guy. I'm not a small guy at all, but they just got the big genes. They would eat everything in our household."

Q: Have you earned any bragging rights with them recently with the two-homer games? They're both units. I'm sure they appreciate the long ball.

"My little brother knows how to talk. He talks a lot with me, I mean we're brothers, it's part of it. So he talks a lot of smack.

My older brother I'm really tight with. He's actually one of my hitting coaches. I send him videos back home. I got the chance to play with both of them in High School on the same team. So I just feel like they know me better than anyone swing-wise, playing-wise. They know when I'm going good, they know when I'm going bad, and they know what I can work on to get better.

So I wouldn't say it's a lot of smack talking. It's more like I use them to help, which I think is pretty cool."

Q: What's been the biggest difference in Triple-A so far?

"I would say the game itself is a little cleaner, it's a little quicker. Pitchers have a little more of a grip on what they want to do, whereas, in the lower levels, I feel like a lot of it is trying to find what kind of pitcher and what kind of hitter you are. Here I feel like it's pretty solidified on what kind of a player you are and what kind of a player they want you to be. So they stick to it a lot better.

And for me at least it means that I need to stay that much more committed to my approach, to my routine, and all that. Because day in and day out these guys are doing it, so I have to too."

Q: Who's been the biggest help in the locker room for you since getting here?

"There's been a lot. Shoutout [Nick] Sogard, and shoutout Eddy Alvarez. Those guys have been awesome. Someone like Eddy, bro, he's been around the game forever. So I've just tried to pick as much as I can off this guy."

Q: Have you gotten any speed skating tips from him?

"[Laughs] No, we're focusing more on the swing and more on defense. I mean, as you said, that guy's a freak athlete. So it's just been super cool to share a locker room with him and learn from him. It's been great."

Q: Portland Teals or Greenville Black Spinner jerseys?

"WOW! That's a toss-up. That is tough. I think I gotta go teal because I have some cool drip I can wear with the teal. No knock on the Black Spinners, those are sick dude."

Q: No baseball activity allowed. What are you doing on an off day?

"Go to the beach. Go golfing. That's pretty much it bro. I'm a California kid."

Follow Hunter on Twitter @Hunter_Noll.

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