This Pirates player's breakthrough is making believers out of early skeptics

Between the departure of Ke’Bryan Hayes and the move of Oneil Cruz to the outfield, Jared Triolo had become one of the most important players on the Pirates’ depth chart.

Prior to his injury, you could have penciled the glove-first utility infielder into the lineup at least every other day if not more often. Losing him for several weeks could have been the thing that derailed the Pirates’ early success. Enter Nick Yorke.

Like Triolo, Yorke has become the go-to option wherever manager Don Kelly needs him. The regular playing time (16 of the Pirates’ 22 games entering April 21) seems to have benefited the former first-rounder in a big way.

Yorke, who is still just 24 years old, has already seen almost as many big-league pitches in 2026 as he did last season, and he is far outperforming last year’s efforts. He is by no means on his way to All-Star status, but as an effective utility option and bench bat, his role on the Pirates seems safe.

Consistent playing time seems to be the key to Nick Yorke’s success and development

Perhaps due to the regular playing time, Yorke has vastly improved his approach at the plate. His walk rate has improved from 4.2% in 2025 to 10.4% this season; his strikeout rate is down from 20.8% to 17.9%. Along with that has come loud contact — his hard-hit rate ranks just behind Cruz on the team’s leaderboard.

Despite having relatively little experience at third base, Yorke has been pretty solid at the position so far. Admittedly it’s a small sample size, but Yorke has demonstrated a quick step and a solid arm. He has eclipsed his estimated success rate at third base (74%) by 5%. His arm strength has maxed out at 89.6 mph, which isn’t eye-popping but is comparable to Triolo (88.6 mph max).

Still, Yorke is a rookie and prone to the typical rookie struggles. He went 1-for-15 in the Pirates’ recent series against the Nationals, but thanks to his veteran teammates, he shook off the slump and slammed his first homer of the season in the next series. For now, Yorke is providing a versatile glove, a fairly productive bat, and a teachable mindset. In short, he’s doing everything the Pirates need.

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