Even after graduating Paul Skenes and Jared Jones to the big leagues last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates still boast a farm system with many talented prospects.
The Pirates’ farm system is littered with top pitching prospects, even with Skenes and Jones making it to the majors. Pittsburgh boasts three pitchers in the MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects, including Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft, and Thomas Harrington. Despite all the pitching, Pittsburgh has a few intriguing field prospects.
In a listing of every team’s most MLB-ready prospect, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter named second baseman and utility player Nick Yorke for the Pirates.
“The Pirates acquired Yorke from the Red Sox in a swap of former top prospects that sent Quinn Priester the other way,” Reuter writes. “He hit .303/.385/.449 with 33 doubles, 12 home runs, 72 RBI and 21 steals in 123 games in the upper minors, and he will compete with Nick Gonzales for the starting second base job this spring while also potentially offering a high floor as a versatile utility piece off the bench.”
Yorke was acquired from the Boston Red Sox before the 2024 trade deadline and made a brief appearance with the Pirates toward the end of last season. In 11 games in the big leagues, he slashed .216/.286/.378 with two home runs and five RBIs.
Story continues below advertisement
Yorke is a versatile player who spent time playing second base, third base, left field, and right field in his time with Pittsburgh and could immediately impact the team at the beginning of next season.
More MLB: Pirates Predicted To Be Leading Division Before 2025 All-Star Break
Featured image via Jeff Curry/Imagn Images