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 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
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 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.