Rising Prospect Could Help Pirates In 2025
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching prospects have caught the eye of most talent evaluators heading into the 2025 season.
They aren’t the only ones who could make an impact, though. MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Sam Dykstra listed every team’s top prospect that missed their top 100 prospects list. For the Pirates, they listed second baseman/outfielder Nick Yorke.
“A surprise first-round pick of the Red Sox in 2020, Yorke had a very solid pro debut in '21, struggled in '22, rebounded a little in '23 and then really clicked at Triple-A in '24 ahead of Boston sending him to the Pirates in the Quinn Priester deal last year. He raked after the trade (.938 OPS in 40 games) to lead to his first taste of the big leagues, and the Pirates think he has the chance to hit for average with some power in Pittsburgh.”
Right-handed pitchers Bubba Chandler (15) and Thomas Harrington (80), shortstop/outfielder Konnor Griffin (43) and middle infielder Termarr Johnson (83) made MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects in baseball for the Pirates.
Yorke, 22, got a taste of the big leagues with the Pirates last season, appearing in 11 games. The right-handed hitting utility player batted .216/.286/.378 with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs across 42 plate appearances. He also displayed his versatility, playing seven games at second base, two in right field and one apiece at third base.
Yorke flashed potential with his bat in Triple-A last season for the Pirates and Boston Red Sox, batting .303/.385/.449 with 12 home runs and 72 RBIs and he posted an .834 OPS. He also stole 21 bases across 123 games.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton believes Yorke can be a difference maker and add something Pittsburgh hasn’t had from its recent prospects.
"He can really hit," Shelton said at the Winter Meetings. " 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."
