Nick Solak

Position: 2B
Level: High A
Affiliate: Tampa Yankees
League: Florida State League
Born: 01/11/1995 (Age: 29)
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 175
B/T: Right / Right
Acquired: 2nd Rd., 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft (NYY); Traded February 20, 2018

Prospect Spotlight

The Yankees’ 2016 second-rounder out of Louisville, Solak is having a solid first full season of pro ball. After slashing .321/.412/.421 in the Short-Season A NY-Penn League last year, he made the jump straight to Tampa to start the season, and he has basically replicated those numbers to-date, slashing .311/.412/.456 with a 39:45 BB:SO rate over his first 272 plate appearances. He was in the middle of a tear when I viewed him June 20, hitting .459 over his last 10 games, and his average was sixth best in the FSL and the OBP was good enough for second in the league.

Solak is a grinder at the plate, and when he gets his pitch, he can really barrel it up, making consistent hard contact with the ability to manipulate the bat to spray the ball to all fields. His swing is more line-drive oriented at present, but I see the ability to develop some loft as he matures, and ultimately hit for fringe-average power, and who can work deep into counts and draw his share of walks, and whose ability to manipulate the barrel will allow him to hit for average as well.

As a defender, Solak is able to make the routine plays with average agility, hands and fielding actions, but he is slightly limited by his fringe-average range and fringy-but-playable arm strength. He’s a converted outfielder, so I would expect some projection here as he acclimates to the position. He’s not going to wow you with his defensive ability, but there is enough there to hold the position if his development curve continues in the right direction. He’s also an above-average runner (4.2 seconds home-to-first) with plus base-running instincts to score from first on a double, and steal the occasional base (he’s 8-for-12 this year)

Solak is a grinder at the plate and a gamer on defense, but it’s the plus to double-plus potential with the bat that’s going to carry him to the big leagues, with a realistic role of an offensive-minded, Role 50 regular second baseman on some teams, though his ultimate defensive home could change depending on his adaptation to second base. He reminded me some of Daniel Murphy (2B, Nationals), just with less power in the profile.