An all-American and team captain at Louisville, Solak has attracted multiple teams with his potential as an offensive second baseman. The Yankees drafted him in the second round in 2016; the Rays acquired him in a three-team, seven-player deal in February 2018 that sent Brandon Drury to New York and Steven Souza to Arizona; and the Rangers grabbed him last July in exchange for Peter Fairbanks. He played regularly for Texas in the final quarter of the season, moving between DH, third base and second while posting an .884 OPS with five homers in 33 games.
Solak entered pro ball with a reputation for making consistent line-drive contact and working walks from the right side of the plate, and he has cemented that with his performance in four years in the Minors. But after going deep just five times in three years at Louisville, he has boosted his home run output from 12 to 19 to 32 in three full pro seasons. While he puts a lot of balls on the ground to take advantage of his plus speed, he has blossomed into a legitimate power hitter and showed surprising pop to all fields in 2019.
Though Solak is athletic and quick, he doesn't have an obvious defensive home. He played mostly second base in the Minors, yet he lacks fluid middle-infield actions. He's a fringy defender there, as well as at third base (where he saw most of his action with Texas despite lacking the desired arm strength for the hot corner) and in the outfield. Statcast - Batting Season Pitches Batted Balls Barrels Barrel % Exit Velocity Launch Angle XBA XSLG WOBA XWOBA XWOBACON Hard Hit % K % BB % 2019 550 87 8 9.2 88.3 6.3 .258 .433 .375 .343 .385 32.2 21.5 11.1 ALL 550 87 8 9.2 88.3 6.3 .258 .433 .375 .343 .385 32.2 21.5 11.1 MLB 40553 6.3 87.5 11.2 .251 .412 .317 .318 .371 34.5 21.7 8.3 Transactions Team Date Transaction 06/21/2016 New York Yankees signed 2B Nick Solak. 06/22/2016 2B Nick Solak assigned to Staten Island Yankees. 04/06/2017 2B Nick Solak assigned to Tampa Yankees from Staten Island Yankees. 08/01/2017 2B Nick Solak assigned to Trenton Thunder from Tampa Yankees. 02/02/2018 New York Yankees invited non-roster 2B Nick Solak to spring training. 02/20/2018 2B Nick Solak roster status changed by Tampa Bay Rays. 02/20/2018 2B Nick Solak assigned to Montgomery Biscuits. 02/20/2018 Arizona Diamondbacks Traded 3B Brandon Drury to New York Yankees; New York Yankees Traded Taylor Widener to Arizona Diamondbacks; New York Yankees Traded Nick Solak to Tampa Bay Rays; Tampa Bay Rays Traded RF Steven Souza Jr. to Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Diamondbacks Traded LHP Anthony Banda and Player To Be Named Later to Tampa Bay Rays. 09/11/2018 2B Nick Solak assigned to Durham Bulls from Montgomery Biscuits. 11/20/2018 2B Nick Solak assigned to Leones del Escogido. 12/04/2018 Leones del Escogido placed 2B Nick Solak on the reserve list. 01/31/2019 Tampa Bay Rays invited non-roster 2B Nick Solak to spring training. 07/13/2019 2B Nick Solak assigned to Nashville Sounds. 07/13/2019 Texas Rangers traded RHP Peter Fairbanks to Tampa Bay Rays for 2B Nick Solak. 08/20/2019 Texas Rangers selected the contract of 2B Nick Solak from Nashville Sounds.
