Nick

Yorke

Yorke had fallen in the pecking order of Red Sox prospects after two mediocre seasons and also started the 2024 season off by hitting just .251 with four home runs and eight steals in 45 games at Double-A. However, the Red Sox moved up him to Triple-A where he has been on a tear, slashing .310/.408/.490 with six home runs in 38 games. It may simply just be a hot streak, but his exit velocities have been above average for the level, and his approach is solid. However, his defense remains a question mark at second base and he had gotten some playing time in left field recently. Given his struggles the last two seasons and the Red Sox’s glut of middle infield prospects, they felt fine moving on from him to get a young pitcher with multiple years of control. Where the Pirates see Yorke fitting is the next question.

Priester was immediately assigned to Triple-A Worcester. On the surface, this seems like a weird trade for the Red Sox since Priester has a 6.46 career ERA in 94 2/3 MLB innings; however, he was a former top-100 prospect who is still just 23 years old. Priester has a good sinker and slider but struggles with his four-seamer. Since Boston throws the fewest four-seam fastballs in baseball, it seems likely that they will dial back Priester’s usage of the pitch and try to focus on his strengths. This feels like an organization betting on its ability to “fix” a struggling former prospect, and given what Craig Breslow and Andrew Bailey have done with the pitching staff in 2024, it might not be a bad idea for them to be on themselves. However, for fantasy purposes, that might make Priester more relevant in 2025 than 2024.

Considering that Yorke was hitting just .251/.325/.366 in 45 games in Double-A before being promoted in May, it’s a pretty great surprise that he’s come in at .330/.425/.505 in 26 games for Worcester. At this rate, it’s worth wondering if he might get a look at second base in Boston before the end of the year, though that probably hinges on what happens with Vaughn Grissom.

Yorke hasn’t skipped a beat since arriving in Worcester earlier this week with four hits in nine at-bats through a pair of games so far. The 22-year-old second baseman, who was Boston’s first-round pick from the 2020 MLB Draft, has watched his stock take a hit over the last few years as he hasn’t exactly hit for a ton of power in the upper minors. Still, there’s a chance he’s able to finally ascend to the big leagues at some point later this summer.

Yorke, a 2020 first-round pick, was hitting a modest .251/.325/.366 in 45 games at Double-A Portland. His stock is down from a couple of years ago, but there’s still hope for him as a starting second baseman. He only turned 22 in April.

Yorke is the Red Sox’s 8th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. The 22-year-old struggled this spring but hit .268/.350/.435 in 110 games at Double-A in 2023 with 13 home runs and 18 steals. He has only played second base in his minor league career but with Vaughn Grissom now in Boston, the team may look to try Yorke at some other positions if they want to find a place for him on the roster. The 27-year-old Hagenman looked good this spring, throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. He posted a 2.95 ERA in 85 1/3 Triple-A innings (41 appearances, five starts) with the Dodgers and Red Sox last year. He figures to get big league innings in 2024.

White, who made his major-league debut earlier this season for a contending Rangers’ squad, will toe the rubber in Seattle with a pretty sensational lineup behind him. Here’s the full order: Jonatan Clase (SEA) CF, Marcelo Mayer (BOS) SS, Heston Kjerstad (BAL) RF, Harry Ford (SEA) C, Lawrence Butler (OAK) LF, Junior Caminero (TB) 3B, Tyler Soderstrom (OAK) 1B, Justyn-Henry Malloy (DET) DH and Nick Yorke (BOS) 2B.

Boston’s first-round pick from last year, Yorke got off to a slow start this season with Class A Salem, but he’s been absolutely scorching over the past two months. This includes 10 homers and a 1.099 OPS over his last 46 games. It’s high time for the 19-year-old to get his next test.

He also didn’t commit any of Boston’s five errors, so that’s something. The Red Sox surprised many by making Yorke the 17th overall pick in last year’s draft. He’s just turning 19 in April, so he’ll likely open his pro career in low-A this year.

Jim Callis of MLB.com reports that the deal is worth $2.7 million, quite a bit lower than the slot value of $3,609,700. The selection surprised just about everybody -- you just don’t see teams spend an early pick on a high school second baseman -- but the Red Sox loved his bat. Time will tell if they will be rewarded.