FORT MYERS, Fla. – Yankees No. 1 prospect George Lombard Jr. said hello to Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet, and greetings to a nationally televised audience on ESPN, by clocking a home run that soared over JetBlue Park’s replica Green Monster to lead off New York's 4-0 victory in Wednesday’s contest between the long-time rivals.
It was Crochet’s fourth pitch of the day, and Lombard (No. 32 in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100) was all over his 96.8 mph heater, belting it at an exit velocity of 104.2 mph and a Statcast-projected distance of 392 feet.
And it undoubtedly whet the appetite of Yankees fans, who one day envision Lombard sending such drives over the real Green Monster at Fenway Park and onto Lansdowne Street.
COMPLETE YANKEES PROSPECT COVERAGE
“It’s always good getting to face the elite guys in the league. I was excited for it,” said Lombard. “I was looking for something to hit and not trying to do too much and put a good swing on it. It felt good off the bat. I’ll go back and take a look at it.”
The 20-year-old Lombard is already an elite defender at shortstop, and his flick of the wrists against Crochet suggests his offense could catch up in due time.
“I felt like I was just not really convicted in the [four-seamer]," Crochet said. "I was just talking about that with Kutter [Crawford], just trying to push it up in the zone instead of just throwing it up in the zone. But that was a good swing, because it was still a good bullet by me.”
Lombard got to Crochet again in the third, ripping a 108.5 mph single into left-center.
“Got behind, tried to throw a sinker, make him run out of bat," Crochet said. "I thought he caught it off the end, but he still hit it pretty well. Yeah, good player, good swings.”
Lombard was the 26th overall pick by the Bronx Bombers in the 2023 Draft.
Though Lombard isn’t projected to make the Opening Day roster, the Yankees are enjoying watching his progress up close in Spring Training.
“You see what he's capable of,” said Yankees manager Aaron Boone. “The thing he does pretty well already as a young hitter is he controls the strike zone and has real power. Obviously, a no-doubter there to start things off.
“It's just continuing to develop as a hitter. The next level is, hit tool, keep developing that. Because the defense, knowledge of the strike zone and the ability to impact the ball is there, and he keeps developing physically year over year. It’s noticeable.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora had heard enough about Lombard that he wasn’t surprised by what he saw on Wednesday.
“I knew about him,” Cora said. “He’s a good athlete. His brother is, too [Jacob Lombard, the No. 4 prospect in the 2026 Draft class]. He's a good defender. Caught up with that fastball up. He’s a good player. He's going to be a good player for a while.”