Nick Yorke Is The Future!
So are Connor Seabold and Garrett Richards too
I don’t usually get to sit and watch spring training games, but because yesterday’s game was the first televised Red Sox game of the year, I made a point of watching when I could. My kids are in e-school which means sometimes they need help understanding something or want some lunch or whatever, but I did get to see some innings in between dad-related items.
Yesterday there were three broad things that stood out to me. The first was Garrett Richards. OK, if I’m honest, it was his mustache. How good was it? Put it this way. If you see Richards standing outside a saloon, probably better to just walk away.
Garrett Richards
I saw some grousing on Twitter about Richards. Yes, his first inning was pretty bad. He couldn’t spot his fastball and was consistently missing high and away. He gave up some hard contact. It could’ve been far worse without MLB’s new rule which allows managers to stop early spring training games mid-inning to avoid over-working a pitcher. And that’s exactly what Alex Cora did after Richards walked William Contreras with the bases loaded and one out to force in the Braves’ second run of the inning.
Richards’ second inning provided better results, though it would’ve been worse had César Puello not pulled Cristian Pache’s homer back over the right field fence with a well-timed jump. That was the first out of the inning and after that Richards got two ground ball outs and that was it for him.
Richards’ command was nowhere near where it needs to be by opening day, but the good news on that is it’s nowhere near opening day. It’s easy to get down on a bad outcome, and Richards didn’t look good. But the reason spring training exists isn’t to win spring training games, it’s to get ready for the season. Richards has thrown 60 major league innings combined over the past two seasons. It’s his first outing of the spring, and his first with a new team. When you think of it that way, expecting anything but knocking some rust off in his first time on a mound facing opposing hitters in a long time is kinda nuts.
There are real reasons to worry about Richards, but those reasons aren’t greater or lesser than they were before he threw his first pitch yesterday. The best possible outcome for Richards yesterday was him walking off the mound fully healthy, something he achieved. Anything else was window dressing. Yes he has work to do, but so does every member of the team this time of year.
Nick Yorke
First of all, it’s hard not to like a guy who, in his first at-bat in a major league camp, while doing his pre-pitch warm-ups, gets his jersey caught on his chin. You have to be nervous, and while Yorke said he wasn’t nervous, heck, I’m nervous now re-watching his at-bat for this article. It was hot in Fort Myers so Yorke used his jersey to wipe some sweat off his temple and hey, sometimes… jerseys are sticky? Let’s go with that.
There’s better news when it comes to things other than stuff sticking to Nick Yorke’s face. I know in the previous paragraphs I pretty much said spring training results don’t matter. And they don’t. Except when they do! Got it? Make sense? Great. Glad we’re on the same page here. The Red Sox kinda sorta maybe stuck their necks out to get Yorke when they drafted him in the first round, 17th overall, out of high school last year. They liked Yorke a lot, so much so that they were worried he wouldn’t be available by the time their next pick rolled around in the third round (they had lost their second round pick), so they decided to pop him in the first instead of taking that chance. There’s too much that needs to happen between now and when Nick Yorke becomes a star for the Red Sox, but at least right now, one at-bat into his professional career, that pick looks at least defensible.
Yorke is 18, just out of Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California, and was facing A.J. Minter, one of the Braves best relievers last season. In other words, this was a high schooler against a major league reliever. You would think the high schooler would be overmatched. But this high schooler was not overmatched. In fact, he patiently worked the count, including fouling off a few pitches, one of which was a particularly good slider low and away in route to working the count even at 2-and-2. The subsequent pitch was a fastball on the inside corner at the knees and Yorke dropped the bat head on it. He didn’t crush it, but he hit it well enough and it fell in between two outfielders for a single. Yorke worked a walk in his second at-bat.
Confidence isn’t the only skill required for becoming a major league baseball player, but it’s good to see Yorke isn’t spooked by the bright lights, such as they were. He looked like he belonged, which is pretty impressive given the level of competition and the situation he faced. He has a good compact stroke which comes from a clean level stance with a bit of knee bend. He’s quick to the ball, you can tell his wrists are quick, and it’s not hard to see why the scouts say he has an advanced feel for hitting.
You can watch the whole at-bat courtesy of Red Sox Stats on twitter:
Pretty impressive from Yorke. He’s someone to follow through the minors, if he wasn’t already.
Connor Seabold
Seabold came over with Nick Pivetta from the Phillies in the Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree deal last trade deadline. Despite Pivetta being the bigger name, Seabold was probably the bigger get. It’s not that he’s a potential ace, he isn’t unless he gets traded to Cleveland, but he’s exactly the kind of player the Red Sox have struggled to develop for the better part of two decades: an average to slightly above major league starter. Think about it. When was the last guy the Red Sox drafted and developed who made the majors and started for the team for, let’s say, two years or more? Clay Buchholz? Actually there is one other guy after Buchholz. Tell me who it is in the comments (no looking it up!).
So that’s how rare Seabold could be for the Red Sox. It’s always great to finally put eyes on these guys, and last year’s loss of the minor league season due to COVID-19 made things that much more difficult for fans to see their new guys. After watching him yesterday, Seabold is a legit starter. He has three average or above pitches, most notably his changeup that looked devastating at times. There was one in particular that dove down and away from a lefty he was facing getting a swing and miss. Just a beautiful pitch. He has a decent enough slider and his fastball is fine, topping out in the mid-90s, with the potential to playing up if he can command it.
The whole package is notable and it wouldn’t shock me at all if he was called up to Boston at some point this season if there is an injury. It’s not a stretch to say he’s a guy who could find himself a mainstay in the Red Sox rotation starting next year.
The Red Sox haven’t had a homegrown rotation in a long time, but something like this in 2022 isn’t out of the question.
Chris Sale
Eduardo Rodriguez/Garrett Richards/Free Agent X
Tanner Houck
Conner Seabold
Martin Perez/Bryan Mata
These things never quite pan out like we think, but it’s a fun idea.
Sox Outsider Podcast Update
Another episode of the Sox Outsider Podcast has published! This one is a preview of the Red Sox 2021 season with guest Chris Smith of MassLive.com. Chris and I talked about spring training, contract extensions, what he’s seen from Alex Cora so far, a potential J.D. Martinez bounce back, the Mookie Betts trade (I’M SORRY IT CAME UP ORGANICALLY I SWEAR!), Jackie Bradley Jr’s free agency, Jarren Duran, and how the Sox stack up against the rest of the AL East. It was a great conversation and I think you’ll enjoy it. Check it out where ever you get your podcasts, or you can click this link for a list of links to different sites that have the Sox Outsider Podcast.