The two players who have been an influence on Red Sox prospect Nick Yorke
This past season for Red Sox No. 4 ranked prospect Nick Yorke was filled with injuries. The California native dealt with turf toe, left wrist soreness and back stiffness.
The 20-year-old saw his offensive production plummet from the previous year. This past season he posted a .231 batting average with 78 hits, 10 doubles, one triple, 11 homers, 45 RBIs with a .668 OPS.
Which was down considerably from 2021 where Yorke hit .325 with 14 home runs, 123 hits and a .928 OPS.
Yorke is now playing in the Arizona Fall League for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Prior to joining the club, the top prospect focused on working out and staying healthy.
“I was hitting every day, working out,” Yorke said. “Trying to keep the body ready to play every day.
“Trying to get the work in, keep hitting and doing as much defense as I can.”
One of Yorke’s major attributes at the plate is being discipline and seeing pitches.
There’s two players that Yorke has credited for being influences on him offensively. One is Yankees’ DJ LeMahieu, who saw an average of 3.97 pitches per PA this season. Yorke has studied the Yankees hitter’s approach.
The other offensive player Yorke tries to emulate is Angels superstar Mike Trout.
“Who wouldn’t say Mike Trout, right? He’s the best hitter in baseball, so I want to be like that, obviously.”
During the 2021 season, Yorke walked 52 times and had a .412 on-base percentage. This past year those numbers were down considerably, but injuries played a big part.
He only walked 33 times and had a career low .303 on-base percentage. While playing with the Scorpions this fall, Yorke has been very selective at the plate and has been focusing on seeing a lot of pitches.
Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com on Yorke and playing in the Arizona Fall League, “A fully healthy Yorke could come in and swing the bat very well in Arizona… So a solid Yorke showing might not put him on the Top 100, but it would be a sign that he’s back to being the guy we saw in 2021.”
Emulating LeMahieu and and Trout are two amazing players to look up to as he navigates into 2023.
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