Zachary
Yorke

Cape Cod: A fascinating prospect. With an XXL build at 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, Yorke looks like he should be a burly slugger, but he’s really more of a natural hitter who controls the strike zone and sprays line drives to all fields. He hit three homers in 89 at-bats this summer along with eight long balls in 205 AB this spring for GCU, but right now his hit tool is more advanced than his power tool. He uses more of an inside-out approach that would fit a smaller speed merchant player, but Yorke is a 20 runner who cannot beat out infield singles and turns doubles into the gap into singles. And once he gets aboard, his team is forced to play station to station. Yorke spent time in a conditioning program early this summer and lost considerable weight, but he still needs to continue working on his body to become a functional defensive first baseman and a more useful baserunner. And he needs to turn on the ball with more authority to tap into his raw power potential.

Positional Profile: C/3B/1B
Body: 6-0, 260-pounds. Thick and stout, wide with ample lower body strength.
Hit: LHH. Balance, slight pinched knee crouch, squared feet, loads hands to lower slot from pre-pitch set-up, sets hands to lift the ball. Rhythmic swing, ball attacker, stays above ball, two hand finish, punishing pull side power, fairly small swing with ability to generate abv avg power; 17.2 max rotational acceleration, 78% on plane efficiency, 41.2% LDs, 47.1% fly balls.
Power: 97 mph exit velocity in live BP via TrackMan. 22.2 max hand speed, 74.9 max bat speed (67.8 avg).
Arm: RH. C - 76 mph. Longer arm action for C position, loose arm, raw arm strength is present though inconsistent carry to bag in C workout.
Defense: 2.01-2.12 pop times. Sits low, strong soft hands, ball didn't move a bit when received, confident receiving skills, got out of crouch well on block/recover, sees ball early w/understanding of which pitches need framing and which are balls.
Run: 7.81 runner in the 60.

BAWS 2019 - Yorke was a rallying ball of energy for his South Bay teammates during the event both on the field and in the dugout. The large, compact frame is squared up with some physicality in the build (7.99 60yd); agile, instinctual, playing in short bursts rather than pure speed. On the left side Yorke has a balanced, simple swing with limited wasted movement attacking best to the middle of the field and pull side gap which he showed with ease. The bat is quick and level with the ability to square it up (89 EV) flashing a solid hit tool with flashes of gap-to-gap pop. Showed a patient approach putting together quality AB’s and picking up two hits with multiple drawn walks; two singles were hard contacts to the middle of the field and also drove in a run. During defensive workouts he played loose and easy showing his eyes behind the ball and low hips with bounce off prep; compact arm able to make throws from different angles and on the run (76 MPH). His in game defense was fantastic filling in at 2B/3B/1B and being able to make plays all around. He made some catches in foul territory that were not easy and ranged well into the OF to make some plays as well. Yorke is a solid all-around player that can continue to make jumps with his hit tool; great personality and work ethic added on as big carrying tools.

Vs Serra - Uncommitted. The youngest Yorke brother showed he’s going to follow in his older brothers footsteps with instincts and actions above his age. Wide, medium frame with budding strength and some extra youth weight; a big-bodied kid that has some time to help tighten the body to help firm up the profile. Wide, slightly crouched stance keeping high even hands and flared elbows. Rocks weight over back foot as hands work down deep into back shoulder with scap load; foot has a small toe-tap/turn blend allowing him to stay behind the baseball and be on time. Swing works on slight upward path with ability to stay through the zone; times where his front hip opens early creating some length on the swing to the outer half of the plate. On base three times with HBP, 1B and BB hitting in 2-hole as a freshman. In game quickness with ability to move laterally and open up his hips fairly well. At 2B made some nice plays showing advanced infield footwork with better range to glove side; made a nice play on the fringes of the dirt in RF diving, popping to knees and making the throw to 1st. Chance he’s more of a 3B/1B/C type as he continues, but showed good fundamentals during game. Should be rising up the 2022 rankings through the Summer/Fall.

7/27/18 at Underclass tourney - Solid trunk. Sweet stroke w/some pop, uses the whole field. Smart on the bases. 3 for 4 in the game scouted. Applies pressure and gets good reads on BIDs. Straight steal of 3rd off left-hander. Can play multiple positions. Average fielder. High ceiling and comes from baseball family. Upper 70s on the mound. Talked a lot on defense.