Lombard goes yard! Yankees top prospect keeps mashing to begin 2026

No pitcher is safe when George Lombard Jr. steps to the plate -- especially not when a position player is toeing the rubber.

Lombard, MLB Pipeline’s No. 29 prospect and No. 1 in the Yankees’ system, taught Wyatt Young (Mets) that lesson the hard way during Double-A Somerset’s 12-2 blowout of Binghamton on Thursday.

Lombard dipped low to catch a sidearm 2-1 pitch from Young and deposited a moonshot well over the left-field wall. It was the 20-year-old’s second long ball of the season, coming alongside a double and three total hits for Lombard. He also struck out twice.

Lombard didn’t quite top his Opening Day performance with five hits, a double and a homer, but Thursday was his second time recording multiple hits in just five games. He has at least one hit in four games, each time additionally tallying a double. That's good for a .476/.522/.952 slash line in the early going.

Lombard shot up to Double-A last season but was a bit slow-going at the plate when he got there. He posted a .695 OPS at the level across 108 games.

The 2023 first-round pick hit just .179 in Grapefruit League action this spring, but he smacked three extra-base hits and stole a pair of bases, displaying the tools that make him a highly touted prospect. The first week of 2026 has only shown more of the same from Lombard.