TAMPA, Fla. – George Lombard Jr. impressed with a blend of athleticism and maturity in his first big league Spring Training a year ago. The Yankees are eager to see what he’ll do for an encore.
The club’s top prospect and baseball’s No. 32 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Lombard headlined a list of 27 non-roster invitees announced by the Yankees on Thursday.
In all, 67 players are currently scheduled to report to big league camp.
Lombard, 20, is coming off a season in which he played 132 combined games between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset, batting .235/.367/.381 with 32 doubles, nine home runs, 49 RBIs, 87 walks and 35 stolen bases. He was the Yankees’ first-round selection in the 2023 MLB Draft.
George is still in his development mode,” general manager Brian Cashman said in December. “He’s come a long way; he’s exciting, he’s got a lot of talent. The glove’s ahead of the bat. … He could play defense in the big leagues right now, but he’s still developing on the hitting side.”
Here is the full list of non-roster invitees by position:
Pitchers (14): RHP Michael Arias, RHP Brendan Beck, LHP Kyle Carr, RHP Harrison Cohen, RHP Carson Coleman, RHP Dylan Coleman, RHP Alexander Cornielle, RHP Yovanny Cruz, RHP Drake Fellows, RHP Bradley Hanner, RHP Ben Hess, RHP Adam Kloffenstein, RHP Carlos Lagrange, RHP Travis MacGregor
Catchers (4): Abrahan Gutierrez, Payton Henry, Miguel Palma, Ali Sanchez
Infielders (4): Paul DeJong, George Lombard Jr., Jonathan Ornelas, Zack Short
Outfielders (2): Kenedy Corona, Duke Ellis
Infielder/outfielders (3): Seth Brown, Marco Luciano, Ernesto Martinez Jr.