Pirates Prospect Positioned to Start in 2025
The Pittsburgh Pirates entered the offseason with two clear needs at first base and right field.
Pittsburgh paid a hefty price to address first base when it traded a trio of pitchers, including right-handed starting pitcher Luis Ortiz to the Cleveland Guardians for Spencer Horwitz. While the left-handed hitting first baseman is just one piece of the puzzle, right field remains a huge question mark for Pittsburgh.
The uncertainty that surrounds right field could pave the way for utility prospect Nick Yorke to earn himself a spot out of Spring Training as the Pirates' everyday right fielder. Yorke, who was acquired via trade from the Boston Red Sox ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, is currently Pittsburgh's No. 6 ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton lauded Yorke's versatility and noted he could slide in anywhere on the field depending on if the team makes any other additions ahead of the 2025 season.
"He has [the] versatility to play all over the diamond," Shelton said at the Winter meetings. "We saw him play third, we saw him play second [and] we saw him play in the outfield. So we'll have to decide with what the makeup of our group is of where he's going to be."
Yorke made a brief cameo in the big leagues at the end of last season, playing 11 games and batting .216/.286/.378 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. Defensively, Yorke played seven games at second base, two in right field and one apiece at third base and left field. In the minor leagues, he played all over the diamond as well, playing all three positions in the outfield along with second base, shortstop and third base.
Offensively, Yorke flashed what makes him one of the Pirates' more promising prospects heading into 2025. In 472 at-bats in the minor leagues, Yorke batted .303.383/.449 with 12 home runs and 72 RBIs.
Given the Pirates' struggles on offense, Yorke translating his success at the plate in the minor leagues to the big leagues in 2025 could be worth its weight in gold and could give them a long-term answer alongside Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds in the outfield if that's where he gets his chance next season.
"He can really hit," Shelton said. " I think that's the thing. He controls the zone. He has the ability to drive the ball to right-center field. As a young hitter, he controls the middle of the diamond. He is a bonafide gap-to-gap guy. You'd like to talk about the ability to stay in the middle [of the] field, he has it. I don't know if we've had a young hitter over the last couple of years who controls the at-bats as well as he does at such a young age. It was a good trade for us. We were able to get an impactful guy."
