Yorke is 9-for-22 with two home runs, one double, six RBI and six runs scored in his first six games at Triple-A Worcester.
Yorke's line at Double-A Portland -- .251/.325/.366 -- didn't scream promotion, but the Red Sox saw enough improvement to warrant the move up the minor-league ladder, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports. His strikeout rate and chase rate both dropped by about five percent, and he was making better contact, upping his exit velocity by 3.5 mph. "Part of our job is rewarding guys when we see progress like that," Red Sox hitting coordinator Dillon Lawson said. "The bat-to-ball skills, controlling the strike zone, the swing decisions, the improvements he's made in those realms, plus obviously his defensive versatility, it made it the right move at the right time." It looks like the move out of Portland has energized the 2020 first-round pick.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Bumped up to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Red Sox promoted Yorke from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old made his Worcester debut in Wednesday's 9-6 loss to Rochester, starting at second base while going 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Yorke received the call-up to Worcester despite turning in a pedestrian .251/.325/.366 slash line over his 197 plate appearances with Portland on the season.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Slated for work in outfield
Rotowire
The Red Sox will have Yorke work into outfield drills during spring training in an attempt to increase his versatility, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.
Yorke is in big-league camp as a non-roster player, and while he doesn't have a realistic shot to make the team, he will get a chance to make an impression while also showing what he can do in the outfield. He has played second base exclusively so far in the minor leagues. A first-round pick in 2020, Yorke spent last season at Double-A Portland, slashing .268/.350/.435 with 13 homers and 18 steals across 506 plate appearances.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Rolling along at Double-A
Rotowire
Yorke is slashing .275/.361/.453 with nine home runs, six steals and a 25 percent strikeout rate in 69 games with Double-A Portland.
He has been 22 percent better than league average by wRC+ as one of the younger hitters at Double-A. Yorke, who won't turn 22 until Opening Day of next year, has played exclusively at second base for the Sea Dogs aside from 10 starts at designated hitter. He isn't expected to add much defensive value, so Yorke needs to sustain a high level of offensive production as he inches closer to the big leagues.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: More walks than Ks at Double-A
Rotowire
Yorke is slashing .241/.450/.483 with two home runs, 10 walks and eight strikeouts in 40 plate appearances for Double-A Portland.
Yorke, who just turned 21, got a vote of confidence with the assignment to Double-A after having an injury-affected 2022 season where he was a below league-average hitter (84 wRC+) at High-A. He had an incredibly strong debut season in 2021, so if Yorke continues to have success against Double-A pitching, last year's rough season will look more and more like the outlier. The bat-first infielder has played second base and designated hitter in the early going.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Endures tough 2022 season
Rotowire
Yorke hit just .231/.303/.365 with 11 homers and eight steals in 80 games for High-A Greenville this season.
The 2020 draft's No. 17 pick, Yorke popped in the minors in 2021 (.325/.412/.516 with 14 homers and 13 steals in 97 games), including a strong stint in Greenville, but his second go-around at the same level was marred by injury and poor performance. That'll likely send him plummeting down the prospect lists heading into next year, but the 20-year-old still has plenty of upside and makes for an intriguing buy-low target for dynasty managers with an appetite for risk.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Missing in action with wrist injury
Rotowire
Yorke has not played for High-A Greenville since July 3 due to a wrist injury, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports.
Yorke has also missed time this year with turf toe and back stiffness, and his struggles (.237/.310/.342 in 45 games) can be attributed to how banged up he has been. Boston remains optimistic Yorke will be able to return to game action "before long," according to Speier.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Coming off minor-league IL
Rotowire
High-A Greenville plans to activate Yorke (toe) from its 7-day injured list Tuesday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.
Yorke looks like he'll be ready to return to the diamond after a bout with turf toe and kept him from playing in games since May 26. Prior to picking up the injury, the 20-year-old infielder was hitting .245/.319/.361 with four home runs and five stolen bases in 34 games for Greenville this season.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Out with turf toe
Rotowire
Yorke was placed on the 7-day injured list Thursday at High-A Greenville with turf toe, Chris Hatfield of SoxProspects.com reports.
Per Hatfield, the team is hopeful Yorke will only need to miss the remainder of this week before getting back in action. He has been out since May 26. Yorke has gotten off to a slow start to the season, hitting .245/.319/.361 with four home runs and five steals in 34 games. His 53.5 GB% and 49.6 Pull% are uncharacteristically high, but it's still a small sample and his plate skills are intact.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Bat coming around in High-A
Rotowire
Yorke is hitting a modest .259/.338/.397 with four homers and five steals across 27 games for High-A Greenville, but he's been warming up recently, hitting .324/.390/.595 across his last eight games.
The latter batting line is more along the lines of what we expected from Yorke, who was a major offensive force in his age-19 campaign at both Low-A and High-A last season. With his numbers still looking unremarkable, the buy-low window may not have slammed shut yet, but it probably will soon.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Opening 2022 in High-A
Rotowire
Yorke is projected to start 2022 at High-A Greenville, Over The Monster reports.
That's where he finished out 2021 -- hitting .333/.406/.571 after being promoted from Low-A -- but he won't likely stay there for long if he keeps performing as well as he has thus far in his young career. Barely 20 years old (his birthday was Saturday), Yorke has one of the better hit tools in the minors, and he also has enough pop and speed to make a real fantasy impact, so he bears watching as he climbs through the organization.
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Red Sox's Nick Yorke: Managing back soreness
Rotowire
Yorke has not played in the last four games with Low-A Salem due to a sore back, Steve Hewitt of the Boston Herald reports.
The infielder's four-game absence is considered precautionary and he is not expected to miss much longer. Yorke, who was picked 17th overall by Boston in 2020, is slashing .301/.387.415 with three homers, 21 RBI and nine stolen bases across 204 plate appearances with Salem this season.
