The Pittsburgh Pirates face the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Photos by Gretta Cohoon)
This is one in a series of stories breaking down PBN’s Top 30 Pittsburgh Pirates prospects.
Nick Yorke made his MLB debut with the Pirates last September after coming over from the Boston Red Sox in a trade at the deadline.
The deal was a swap of former first-round picks, with the Pirates sending 2019 first-rounder Quinn Priester to Boston for Yorke, who was selected with the 17th pick in the 2020 draft.
Yorke was off to a sizzling start with Triple-A Indianapolis following the trade. He roped 17 doubles in 41 games and hit an astonishing .355 with a .938 OPS, two home runs and 26 RBI.
In his first stint in the big leagues, Yorke hit .216 with a .664 OPS, two home runs, five RBI and a pair of steals across 11 games to end the 2024 season.
Yorke found himself in competition to earn a spot on the big-league roster coming out of spring training this year but ultimately started the season with Indianapolis.
It was a slow start to the season for Yorke, who had a brief stint on the injured list due to a shoulder injury in April before heating up in May.
Despite team-wide offensive struggles for the Pirates in 2025, Yorke didn’t get a chance to impact the big-league club until he was recalled from Triple-A as a September call-up.
Yorke totaled 22 games with Pittsburgh in September and hit .232 with a .538 OPS, three doubles, a home run and eight RBI. He ended the season strong, finishing with a .303 batting average and a .767 OPS over his last 10 games.
Yorke provided the Pirates with versatility, primarily playing second base, a position he seemed more comfortable in from his first brief showing a season ago. He also appeared in six games at first base, four in right field and one game at third base.
The trade the Pirates made for Yorke isn’t one many would say the Pirates have won considering the success Priester has had with the Milwaukee Brewers after he was traded there by the Red Sox early on in the 2025 season.
While Yorke has some upside, he largely had a middling season with Indianapolis as evident by his essentially league-average 103 wRC+. Though they gave him a shot late in the season, it could be a bit telling he Pirates waited so long to give him an opportunity considering how bad the team was offensively.
Mentioned in this article: Nick Yorke Pittsburgh Pirates
More about: Pirates Farm System