Boston Red Sox sign Mitty infielder Nick Yorke
Blog July 8, 2020
Nick Yorke made what was expected since draft night official Tuesday.
The former Archbishop Mitty High School standout traveled to Boston to sign with the Red Sox, who surprisingly selected the infielder with the 17th pick in the first round last month.
Yorke, 18, received a $2.7 million signing bonus, according to MLB.com, almost $1 million less than the assigned value for that slot.
“Very excited to be a part of the Red Sox Organization,” Yorke tweeted. “Can’t wait to get to work!”
In most pre-draft projections, Yorke, who had committed to the University of Arizona before the draft, was projected to be taken about 80 slots lower.
The pick surprised even Yorke’s older brother, Joe, who said Monday that he was planning to travel home from a visit to Southern California on the second day of the draft to be with Nick, whom he teamed with at Mitty.
“We were at my aunt’s house (in Huntington Beach), just in case,” Joe Yorke said. “I get a text from him and he says, ‘Turn it on now.’ We turned the TV on and here we go — the 17th pick for the Boston Red Sox, Nicholas Yorke.
“We just started going nuts.”
Yorke was named the West Catholic Athletic League’s MVP as a sophomore in 2018 after batting .494 in 28 games. He hit .505 with 40 RBIs, nine doubles, three triples and seven home runs as a junior. In five games his senior year, cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic, Yorke batted .533 with two home runs.
Joe Yorke, who graduated from Mitty in 2019, committed to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo late last week, just hours after Boise State dropped its baseball program because of lost revenue from the coronavirus pandemic. Joe was a freshman first baseman for Boise this past spring.
Very excited to be a part of the Red Sox Organization. Can’t wait to get to work!
— Nick Yorke (@nickyorke2) July 7, 2020
