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Post by chr31ter on Feb 26, 2021 7:33:35 GMT -5
Oh...
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Post by sarasoxer on Feb 26, 2021 8:54:19 GMT -5
Ok, so I’m realizing the video is not from ST but is a tweet from September at the ATS. Maybe he is actually less heavy right now. Hopefully...I must say tho that his lower body looked pretty "thick" in Sept. Maybe even with lost weight, that is his body structure.
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Post by johnsilver52 on Feb 26, 2021 9:06:36 GMT -5
Ok, so I’m realizing the video is not from ST but is a tweet from September at the ATS. Maybe he is actually less heavy right now. Hopefully...I must say tho that his lower body looked pretty "thick" in Sept. Maybe even with lost weight, that is his body structure. Spring training used to be for losing the weight gained from winter. How many old timers, who saw ST players show up during the 60's and 70's remember guys with bellies? I've mentioned this multiple times before, but the worst offender was George Scott, who always showed up with a big gut every spring he was with Boston. Guys now get made fun of for just looking like they "could" be over weight by 5 pounds. One day will have my son go digging thru the attic and see if have any pics still from ST of the old days and show what out of shape players look like here.
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Post by fdrnewdeal on Feb 26, 2021 9:28:01 GMT -5
Yorke being a thick guy isn't a new story. His brother is massive. He's likely going to have to work to keep his body under control, and a lot of that is probably genes. Most 18 year olds aren't built like that; even if they want to. He's by no means fat, but yeah, he's a big dude.
But yeah... he was also athletic enough to be a SS before the arm injury (that's of course not where he profiles as a professional) and he's done nothing but hit since signing so I think dwelling on his size is looking for dark clouds among nothing but silver linings.
I also think it's worth noting that athleticism isn't as big a deal at 2B in the era of analytics. Teams are much more sophisticated about positioning, etc. When Pedroia dropped weight early on in his career, his competition at 2B was so much higher defensively. I mean, only a few years earlier, there were people who wanted Pokey Reese to start as a 2B despite being a 75 wRC+ guy because of his glove.
That's not how the game views 2b, today. It's an offensive position. Last season there were 9 guys who posted numbers 20% better than league average from 2B. In 2019, there were 8 who were 10% better. Of the people who stunk in 19, 2 of them were once offensive threats (Kipness and Odor) and only one of them was a defensive specialist, (Sanchez) who was playing for a team in a full rebuild (The White Sox).
Looking at defensive standouts at 2b back in Pedroia's day, himself, Utley, etc. It's not crazy to think they could have hit a 30 UZR against the current crop.
2B used to be where you stashed SS who weren't necessarily good enough for SS. More often those guys end up in the OF now due to their athleticism.
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Post by vermontsox1 on Feb 26, 2021 13:50:49 GMT -5
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Post by kevfc89 on Feb 26, 2021 15:02:12 GMT -5
Not the best angle and quality in this tweet, but his body looks a lot better to my eye than how he looked in last year's extended camp. Not sure why everyone was panicking based on last year's videos, when he was likely just sitting in his house in the midst of a pandemic and was surprisingly called late into camp to participate. Also, from what can be gleaned from his quotes, he seems like a guy with a hard-working attitude who's driven to do what he has to to be the best player he can be: 'Yorke’s goal for this camp is one that he plans on taking with him for the rest of his career. It is one that is in some ways fueled by so many “experts” second-guessing the Red Sox for taking Yorke well before the pre-Draft projections.' “My goal is to come in and outwork everybody here, no matter what camp I’m at, no matter where I’m at. I’m going to try to outwork you, and I’m going to try to compete for a spot wherever I go,” said Yorke. “I’m just trying to prove people wrong.”
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Post by RedSoxStats on Feb 26, 2021 15:25:30 GMT -5
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Post by blizzards39 on Feb 26, 2021 15:55:45 GMT -5
Looking good to me. It will be interesting to see how he does this spring and into the season. Has there been any indication where He is going to start the year? One would assume Greenville or Salem. I think there is potential for him to shoot up all prospect boards very quickly.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Feb 26, 2021 16:15:06 GMT -5
I'd bet heavy money on Salem. Greenville would be way too aggressive, and they don't seem inclined to keep him back at extended, especially with Lowell no longer an option.
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Post by sittingstill on Feb 26, 2021 16:22:26 GMT -5
I'm glad Billie Weiss can keep us supplied with photos. [sobs quietly]
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Post by thegoodthebadthesox on Feb 26, 2021 19:35:52 GMT -5
I'd bet heavy money on Salem. Greenville would be way too aggressive, and they don't seem inclined to keep him back at extended, especially with Lowell no longer an option. Took me longer than I'd like to admit to make sense of this lol
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Feb 26, 2021 20:01:04 GMT -5
I'd bet heavy money on Salem. Greenville would be way too aggressive, and they don't seem inclined to keep him back at extended, especially with Lowell no longer an option. Took me longer than I'd like to admit to make sense of this lol We've had at least one mistake on every pod where Salem/Greenville came up so far.
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Post by vermontsox1 on Mar 1, 2021 17:51:25 GMT -5
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shagworthy
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Post by shagworthy on Mar 1, 2021 18:12:11 GMT -5
Kid shows a lot of poise at 18. I'd be interested as the spring goes on what the veterans think about him.
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Post by rizdog on Mar 1, 2021 20:19:54 GMT -5
It's going to be tough deciding on the starting 2B, between Downs and Yorke!!!
Just kidding....... I think
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Mar 1, 2021 21:30:02 GMT -5
Interesting that they hooked him up with Youk for a workout
He seems to be mature beyond his years
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ianrs
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Post by ianrs on Mar 2, 2021 4:50:43 GMT -5
This dude is so relaxed for an 18 year old, going to be an absolute stud. You can just feel it. Stories of him riding his bike to get some BP with his brother, he just lives baseball and has some of the best hands I've seen in an 18 year old.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Mar 2, 2021 6:15:17 GMT -5
It's impossible to overstate the importance of his kind of confidence, work ethic, level-headedness, and love of the game as a component of success. It's what turns tools into usable skills.
Of course, Keith Law thinks it was a terrible pick. Just like Pedey lacked the bat speed to hit MLB pitching and had a backup MI ceiling. And that was in his rookie season a week or so after he had started the lazer show (but still had awful numbers)!
You would not be crazy if you put him at 8 right now.
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Post by electricityverdugo99 on Mar 2, 2021 6:22:08 GMT -5
It'll be interesting to see what Yorke turns into outside of hitting. He should hit, but the defensive spectrum is going to really range in the neighborhood of perhaps Michael Chavis territory.
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Post by patford on Mar 2, 2021 8:45:17 GMT -5
It'll be interesting to see what Yorke turns into outside of hitting. He should hit, but the defensive spectrum is going to really range in the neighborhood of perhaps Michael Chavis territory. Anyone who puts in the work can become at least a good defensive player. Work also helps with hitting but hitting is one of those things with an almost mysterious component (like a golf swing) which can go off a lot easier than the defensive side. There are of course those rare cases of "the yips" in fielding (almost always throws) but those are unusual. Of course body type will limit a player to certain positions. And the Sox Prospects report on him mentions only positive defensive tools and skill set.
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mobaz
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Post by mobaz on Mar 2, 2021 9:39:46 GMT -5
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Mar 2, 2021 11:12:00 GMT -5
It'll be interesting to see what Yorke turns into outside of hitting. He should hit, but the defensive spectrum is going to really range in the neighborhood of perhaps Michael Chavis territory. Anyone who puts in the work can become at least a good defensive player. Work also helps with hitting but hitting is one of those things with an almost mysterious component (like a golf swing) which can go off a lot easier than the defensive side. There are of course those rare cases of "the yips" in fielding (almost always throws) but those are unusual. Of course body type will limit a player to certain positions. And the Sox Prospects report on him mentions only positive defensive tools and skill set. Disagree completely about just "putting in the work" being sufficient to make someone a good defender. That's nuts on its face. FWIW his scoring report is getting updated once I have a minute to review the update. I'd direct you to the November Scout Chart linked in his profile that notes questions about his defensive profile.
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Post by patford on Mar 2, 2021 20:37:04 GMT -5
Disagree completely about just "putting in the work" being sufficient to make someone a good defender. That's nuts on its face. FWIW his scoring report is getting updated once I have a minute to review the update. I'd direct you to the November Scout Chart linked in his profile that notes questions about his defensive profile. Well by "anyone" I mean a professional athlete. Not "anyone" as some guy off the street. You think if someone good enough to be a professional athlete and works hard at their fielding they can not become a good defender? That runs contrary to what I have always heard. Mind you I'm not saying a great or even a plus defender. I guess I'd define good as about league average at a given position. I'm not saying any player could become a CF or SS. Maybe what I have heard is just coach speak used to encourage players to work harder. I hear similar things about Basketball. The fairly routine mantra that even when a shot isn't falling the effort on defense can always be there. That sort of thing.
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Post by mandelbro on Mar 2, 2021 21:10:54 GMT -5
It'll be interesting to see what Yorke turns into outside of hitting. He should hit, but the defensive spectrum is going to really range in the neighborhood of perhaps Michael Chavis territory. Anyone who puts in the work can become at least a good defensive player. Work also helps with hitting but hitting is one of those things with an almost mysterious component (like a golf swing) which can go off a lot easier than the defensive side. There are of course those rare cases of "the yips" in fielding (almost always throws) but those are unusual. Of course body type will limit a player to certain positions. And the Sox Prospects report on him mentions only positive defensive tools and skill set. IMO, there's survivorship bias here. The only players you see a lot of in the majors are the ones who are can be passable at their defensive position. If Nick Yorke is a DH, is he an MLB player? Probably not. But that player just never gets to MLB in the first place. Or if they're a Michael Chavis or Yairo Munoz (the stick doesn't match up to the defensive profile), they have a short career. MLB regulars are all passable at their position... which is why they are MLB regulars. But the road to being an MLB regular is littered with people who worked hard and weren't capable of being good enough defensively.
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jimoh
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Post by jimoh on Mar 3, 2021 8:29:25 GMT -5
Anyone who puts in the work can become at least a good defensive player. Work also helps with hitting but hitting is one of those things with an almost mysterious component (like a golf swing) which can go off a lot easier than the defensive side. There are of course those rare cases of "the yips" in fielding (almost always throws) but those are unusual. Of course body type will limit a player to certain positions. And the Sox Prospects report on him mentions only positive defensive tools and skill set. IMO, there's survivorship bias here. The only players you see a lot of in the majors are the ones who are can be passable at their defensive position. If Nick Yorke is a DH, is he an MLB player? Probably not. But that player just never gets to MLB in the first place. Or if they're a Michael Chavis or Yairo Munoz (the stick doesn't match up to the defensive profile), they have a short career. MLB regulars are all passable at their position... which is why they are MLB regulars. But the road to being an MLB regular is littered with people who worked hard and weren't capable of being good enough defensively. "Anyone who puts in the work can become at least a good defensive player" is too broad a claim. "Many 18-year-olds can improve their defense both with physical training that improves quickness and with coaching/practice" is more reasonable. How many ground balls did Youkilis and Boggs take in the minor leagues? Neither was projected to be an adequate defender. (Although we'd like to see Yorke in mlb at a younger age than those guys.)
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