Welcome back! Yankees' top prospect homers in first Triple-A at-bat since returning from the IL
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After spending nearly a month on the IL, George Lombard Jr. doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of rust at the plate.
MLB's No. 20 prospect picked up two hits and homered in his first Triple-A at-bat in more than a month during Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s 7-6 win against Worcester at on Friday night at PNC Field. It was the Lombard's 16th multihit game of the year.
The shortstop wasted no time showing off his 55-grade power. Leading off the bottom of the first, Lombard Jr. turned on a 1-2 fastball from left-hander Raymond Burgos (Red Sox) and blasted it onto the concourse beyond the wall in left for his fifth Triple-A long ball and ninth overall.
Lombard's homer continued his hot-hitting ways against southpaws. The 21-year-old has been exceptional against them, slashing .311/.434 /.705 in 61 at-bats.
While Friday marked Lombard first affiliate action since coming off the 7-day IL after spraining two fingers on his left hand on June 18, his homer against Worcester marked his third consecutive start with a dinger. Prior to being activated, Lombard went deep in his final two rehab appearances for the Yankees' Rookie-level Florida Complex League club.
Following a five-pitch walk in the second, MLB’s No. 9 shortstop prospect notched his second knock of the game in the fourth. lining an 0-2 sweeper on the outer third of the zone into left field. This season at the Triple-A level, Lombard has done well to hit pitches that are located inside the strike zone, sporting an 87.5 percent in-zone contact rate with the RailRiders, per FanGraphs.
In 63 games across the Minors' top two levels this season, Lombard is hitting .263 with an .854 OPS, 50 runs scored and nine homers. Among all qualified players in the New York system, the 2023 first-round draft pick ranks first in OBP (.392), is tied for first in doubles (20) and is fourth in walks (48).