Willing to play wherever for the Pirates, Nick Yorke wants 'to prove Ben Cherington right'

Now that Nick Yorke made his major-league debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it makes sense that the 22-year-old doesn’t want to talk about being ranked among their top 10 prospects anymore.

Prospect rankings never meant much to Yorke, who was listed at No. 96 by Baseball America and No. 139 by MLB Pipeline before the 2020 MLB Draft only to be selected 17th overall by the Boston Red Sox.

That was reinforced during Yorke’s exit interview last fall with Pirates general manager Ben Cherington, who acquired him in a trade deadline deal that sent right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester to the Red Sox.

“He was like, ‘We’re not viewing you as a prospect anymore. You’re a big-league player, so carry yourself as one, act as one,’” said Yorke, who is 4 for 20 (.200) with two doubles and an RBI in nine Grapefruit League games this spring. “All of it, to me, is eyewash. It all matters what happens between the white lines.”

The Pirates were impressed with how Yorke handled the change of scenery, slashing .355/.431/.507 with 17 doubles, two home runs and 26 RBIs in 41 games at Triple-A Indianapolis, and he got a mid-September call-up. He batted .216 (8 of 37) but hit two homers and had five RBIs in the majors while playing seven games at second base, two in right field and one each in left field and third base.

That was proof not only that his hit tool was real but he was more flexible defensively than anticipated after playing strictly at second base in his first three seasons in the Red Sox system. So when newly acquired Spencer Horwitz underwent surgery on his right wrist a week before the start of spring training, Pirates bench coach Don Kelly called Yorke and told him to bring a first-base mitt to big-league camp.

Yorke borrowed a broken-in one from his brother, Zach, a 6-foot-2, 295-pound junior who plays first base for Grand Canyon University. Meantime, Nick Yorke is breaking in a new first-base mitt this spring.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Yorke’s ability to swing the bat is a reason they wanted to give him a look at first base in Grapefruit League games, to see if he could become a short-term solution at the position.

“We saw last year when he came up, his ability to impact the ball, his approach,” Shelton said. “I mean, he’s a natural middle infielder. Last year, I think we saw him play second, we saw him play third and both corners (in the outfield). Just adding that into his repertoire, especially with Horo being down for a while.”

Yorke is embracing the opportunity to play, no matter where he plays. He joked that it reminds him of the old-school days, when a player would find out where he was in the batting order and which position on the field by looking at the lineup card upon arriving at the ballpark.

“I just love playing baseball,” Yorke said. “I don’t care where I’m at.”

The 10 gloves in his locker at LECOM Park were a testament to Yorke’s willingness to play wherever the Pirates need him. He jokes that he went from “one to seven really quick.” In addition to his brother’s first-base mitt and his new one, Yorke also has an outfield glove, a 12-inch infield glove for when he plays third base, an 11½-inch infield glove for second base and an 11¾-inch glove for shortstop.

But his bat has always been Yorke’s carrying tool since his high school days. MLB Pipeline’s scouting report said the 6-foot, 210-pound right-handed hitter is “at his best when he drives the ball to the right side of the field, making him a much better hitter with two strikes, while understanding he is strong enough to pull mistake breaking stuff for home run power, though he can also hit the ball out the other way.”

After posting a .928 OPS across both Single-A levels in his first pro season, Yorke batted .232 at High-A Greenville in 2022 and .268 with 122 strikeouts at Double-A Portland in 2023. Last year, he cut down on the swing-and-miss action and batted .310 with an .898 OPS at Triple-A Worcester before being traded.

As much as that still stings, Yorke is welcoming his chance to play for the Pirates, where he’s ranked the No. 5 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 6 by Baseball America.

“It’s a little different, for sure,” Yorke said. “When you get drafted, you’re told that you’re a long-term piece of the puzzle here, blah, blah, blah, we want you here, blah, blah, blah — and then you get traded away. It’s good to know that another team has seen the work that I’m doing and wants that to be a part of their organization. I guess my goal is to prove Ben Cherington right.”