Prospect guru has remarkably high praise for Pirates' Nick Yorke

The middle infield in Pittsburgh is quite blocked off across all levels, but that's a good thing. It means there's a surplus of talent in that position group. Many outlets have labeled Pirates prospects Konnor Griffin and Termarr Johnson as top prospects throughout the entire league. One name that has been left out from most top 100 rankings is Nick Yorke, but he still deserves mention. As a matter of fact, one prospect guru rated Yorke far higher than any other outlet in his preseason 2025 list, published earlier this week.

Keith Law of The Athletic released his top 100 prospects for the 2025 season, and of course Griffin and Johnson made the list. Surprisingly, though, they were both ranked behind Yorke, who Law selected as the 50th-ranked prospect in all of baseball. No other outlet has him ranked, which makes this an extremely bold label for Law.

Keith Law ranks Pirates prospect Nick Yorke a top-50 prospect in his 2025 rankings.

Yorke has played in just a few games at the big league level, so his ranking comes from his impressive traits displayed in Triple-A. He has been an above average hitter in his entire minor league career, and his work in 2024 added on to that, as he broke out as soon as he got to the Pirates organization.

With Indianapolis, Yorke played in just 40 games, belting two home runs and 17 doubles, while slashing .355/.431/.507. He struck out at a low clip of 18.9% and walked at a solid rate of 10.3%. Additionally, his wRC+ reached 147. Those numbers overall are outstanding, yet his Statcast numbers indicate that it was not just luck.

His Triple-A Statcast metrics include an impressive exit velocity of 91.5 miles per hour, a slightly above MLB average whiff rate of 20.8%, and a great hard-hit rate of 48.5%. His first taste of the major leagues was not quite as mind-blowing as his Triple-A numbers, but his metrics stayed consistent, which is something very crucial towards determining what he can provide in an increased role.

With Pittsburgh, Yorke posted a wRC+ of 82 with an OPS of .664. Despite that, his barrel rate reached 15.4%, his hard-hit rate climbed to 50%, and his expected slugging was at .509. Doing that in a first MLB taste is impressive enough, and a great sign for his development and potential future MLB success.

Yorke getting ranked that high was remarkable, and Law was bold to rank him within the top 50, despite being unranked on every other top 100 list. Hopefully, he is right about Yorke, as he could be a big piece to a weak Pirates offense if he lives up to this hype.