Red Sox take high school infielder Nick Yorke with 17th overall pick of 2020 MLB Draft

The Red Sox had plenty of good options to choose from with the No. 17 overall selection of the MLB Draft, and with his first draft selection as the front-office boss, Chaim Bloom decided to go way off the board by taking Nick Yorke, an 18-year-old middle infielder from Archbishop Mitty High School in California.

With their first of four picks in a shortened five-round draft, Bloom and his staff identified a player most evaluators and experts overlooked and certainly thought less of in their mock drafts. Yorke was ranked No. 139 on MLB’s list of the top 200 draft prospects and certainly wasn’t expected to go this early in the draft.

The 6-foot, 200-pound Yorke, who committed to the University of Arizona, is seen by scouts as one of the best pure hitters among prep school players on the west coast. Over four years at Archbishop Mitty, Yorke batted .457 with 134 hits in 363 plate appearances. The right-handed hitter’s strength is clearly at the plate, where he has strong plate discipline and should develop into a solid run producer.

The biggest question for Yorke seems to be where he’ll call home on defense. He played shortstop at Archbishop Mitty, but he has the versatility to play second, third and even center field.

This story will be updated.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/30viI9K