Will my late 2012 macbook pro - 2.6 i7, 750gb HD, 16gb ram be fast enough for Yosemite?
That Mac should have zero issues running Mavericks, Yosemite or (when it comes out) El Cap. it's a fast system with gobs of RAM and a nice big drive.

The sluggishness could be from a variety of sources but if you want to go ahead with a backup, wipe and restore that would be a good way to continue with your troubleshooting.