At most, he'll play 7 of those games. That's about 30 PA. I'm guessing he'd have to have like 0bb/15k. If he has more BB than K from here on out, I can't see him being in Greenville. It's almost always a sign a player is too advanced for the league.
Not sure if it’s still true with the new front office, but they used to not like promoting guys to Portland to start the year. They didn’t want them getting off to a cold start.
I had to look this up and what a great observation. The only player in recent memory I found after looking who got his first AA exposure straight out of spring training was Devers. He had a significantly larger A+ sample at the time, but was overall less impressive statistically at A/A+ at basically the same age.
Nope, I was. I was mostly just trying to think of players who are already finished products and totally overlooked Casas.
Yorke’s track might even be faster than Casas’s. His bat to ball skills are elite and he commands that strike zone like a badass fothermucker. The only real question with him is his defensive position, but his bat is nearing the point that even that question is rendered moot. But an average fielding 2B with that bat’s a future all star.
It’s shaping up to be a great draft with the way that Jordan’s been smacking the ball around. Doubly so as the Yorke under slot signing allowed them to land Jordan in the first place,
I think the fear is that he has a long way to go to be even project as an average defender at 2B. If he can't make it as a middle infielder, that's not the end of the world given the quality of his bat, but he's short for an infield corner, and the great hit tool and moderate power is a fringe-y profile for a LF/DH.
| 2021 | Nick Yorke | 19 | A/HiA | .325 | .412 | .516 |
| 2018 | Vlad Guerrero Jr. | 19 | AA/AAA | .381 | .437 | .636 |
| 2017 | Bo Bichette | 19 | A/HiA | .362 | .423 | .565 |
| 2013 | Byron Buxton | 19 | A/HiA | .334 | .424 | .520 |
| 2011 | Mike Trout | 19 | AA | .326 | .414 | .544 |
| 2011 | Oscar Taveras | 19 | A | .386 | .444 | .584 |
Was a kid growing up in Harrisburg PA when he played for the AA Senators. Saw him take one step from the third base line and chuck it over the right field fence. He signed an autographed baseball for me after. From that moment on I fell in love with Baseball.
Range. His footwork, hands, arm and instincts are all fine. His range suffers due to being slow.
Ah, thanks. Too bad. Generally not much you can do there but hopefully he can stick for a couple years at the position.
Pedroia was slower than Youkilis if I recall correctly. He could still be slow AF and be an above average defensive 2B.
That’s interesting, but that doesn’t fit the impression given by the SoxProspects guys, (or maybe just as I interpreted it).
It's partly why he was moved off SS. With the inexperience at 2b, you can't really tell if it's a lack of that type of athleticism or just inexperience. And range isn't everything, especially in today's game. It's not like he's a statue.
Aren’t almost all slash lines pretty inflated in the AZFL? I really like Yorke and having him (even as trade bait) at the top of the prospect rankings really helps.
Leadwide OPS was .771 so that gives him, what, a ~ 123 OPS + as a player very young (- 1.5 years) for the league. Take the positives where you can find them!
Barrels turned into fouls and grounders last year, so he is hoping the changes will put a stop to that. And hopefully he will stay healthier.
And yet...
The underlying numbers are promising so far:
Remember he had a few injuries he was dealing with last year. In 80 ABs in 2021 he hit 333 at greenville, a down 2022 (multiple injuries) but a good 2022 AFL. Looks like he is back in line with historic data in spite of the jump to AA. He becomes an interesting piece again.
Yeah I was pretty willing to dismiss most of last year’s performance. That may have been wish casting a bit on my part, but as this year’s sample size grows, it definitively gives credence to the idea that last year can be explained away by injury. Another piece of evidence is his promotion to AA despite his lackluster 2022. Full steam ahead, IMO.
Yeah it is pretty exciting to see what we have up the middle in the minors - hoping those options deliver some value for us in the bigs (either directly or through a trade). I wonder hope much value Yorke has in trade, given he is undersized, 2nd base only, just okay with glove, and a "reach" where he was drafted...
With Mayer up possibly next year, Story here for at least two more years, Valdez looking like he has at least the bat for the majors, and the presence of Hamilton, Romero and a handful of other promising MI in the farm, seems like Yorke's value is as a trade chip.
Are 6 foot, 200 pound baseball players considered undersized these day? Assuming those measurements are real...
Between Valdez and Yorke, which has a better chance to be Jeff Bagwell? Because I don't want the Sox to trade Jeff Bagwell again. If I had to choose, I'm keeping Yorke. I trust Bloom and the FO to know best.
