Prospects Pirates received at 2024 MLB Trade Deadline

Here’s a rundown of what you need to know about the prospects the Pirates are acquiring at this year’s Trade Deadline.

Nick Yorke, 2B/LF, Triple-A Indianapolis
Pipeline scouting report: Shoulder surgery limited Yorke to serving as the designated hitter while he was a California high school junior, and the pandemic reduced his senior season to five games, but the Red Sox got more scouting looks than most teams and made him a surprise first-round pick in 2020. Signed for an under-slot $2.7 million, Yorke paced Single-A Salem in hitting (.323) and OPS (.913) during his 2021 pro debut and ranked among the best pure hitters in the Minors. He didn’t approach those numbers in 2022, though he rebounded a bit at Double-A in 2023 and continued a solid trend when challenged with a move to Triple-A this season. That caught the Pirates’ eye, and they acquired him close to the Trade Deadline for Quinn Priester.

Yorke has the sweet right-handed swing and hand-eye coordination to hit for a high average, but he hadn’t done so consistently while tinkering with his setup and becoming much more pull oriented the past two seasons, though that improved during his time in Worcester this year. He’s still barreling fastballs but scuffling against breaking balls and changeups. He has the bat speed and strength to produce 20 homers per season, though he now looks more like an everyday player than a potential star.

The rest of Yorke’s tools are fringy, though he has good baserunning instincts and will steal an occasional bag. He’s a surehanded if not especially athletic or rangy defender, with Boston’s internal metrics viewing him as a better second baseman than outside organizations do. His lack of arm strength limits his versatility, though he saw time in left field in 2024 and fared better than expected there, so the Pirates are likely to keep the second base-outfield mix going.

Organizational fit: The Pirates weren’t afraid to trade from a position of depth – their starting pitcher pool – to acquire young hitters. Yorke fits that bill. The Pirates believe he has the athleticism to play the outfield, which certainly opens up their options for how they can use him since they’re in sore need of more outfield production and don’t have any guarantees besides Bryan Reynolds. They could also use another big right-handed bat in the lineup, and while Yorke may not be that at the moment, he has the potential to be one.