This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BALTIMORE -- At each of his Minor League stops, George Lombard Jr.'s glove arrived ahead of his bat. The defense translated immediately, and it generally took several weeks for the young shortstop to catch up against a new level of pitching.
So far, Lombard seems to be ahead of that timetable. The Yankees’ top prospect posted consecutive multi-hit games for the first time as a big leaguer on Wednesday, driving in a pair of runs in the Yankees’ 5-3 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.
“When you’re young, those are always the moments you wish to be in one day,” Lombard said. “You always feel like you want to be up there. You want to be the guy that can put the team in front or help the team find a way to win. You rely on your preparation and all the work you put in.”
Through 13 Major League games, the 21-year-old Lombard has been stacking quality plate appearances, showing a patient all-fields approach that hitting coach James Rowson sees as unusually advanced.
“He’s got a solid approach of knowing what he wants to do up there that you don’t generally see in a lot of young players,” Rowson said. “I’ve been very impressed. He’s a line-drive hitter that can use the whole field.
“This is a guy who can drive the ball to left, right or center, but he’s not trying to do too much. He’s just kind of taking what the game gives him.”
That was on display Thursday. Lombard’s first plate appearance came in the second inning, immediately following Ryan McMahon’s run-scoring single off Chris Bassitt, which ended with McMahon being thrown out stretching.
With Spencer Jones at third base, Lombard sensed an RBI opportunity, lifting a ball to right field for a sacrifice fly.
“I loved the sac fly; getting Bassitt in the air there the other way,” manager Aaron Boone said. “[With Baltimore] guarding against the ball on the ground there, that’s a really good at-bat.”
After singling in the seventh inning, Lombard had a big chance in the eighth, coming up with the bases loaded and two outs. The at-bat against Yennier Cano didn’t produce a screamer; in fact, it was a 66.4 mph chopper down the third-base line, but putting the ball in play was enough.
Heliot Ramos scored as Baltimore third baseman Coby Mayo had no play at first base, and when he tossed to third, Jazz Chisholm, Jr. dove back in safely.
“That was a little bit fortunate; the dribbler goes our way,” Boone said. “But I thought for the most part, just more solid at-bats by him.”
Of course, Lombard’s defense has dazzled. He entered Wednesday having tallied eight Defensive Runs Saved in just 100 big league innings, which seems like it should be a misprint -- but isn’t.
“I believe it, based on what I’m watching,” Boone said. “It’s a testament to him and his work ethic, and how much pride he takes on that side of the ball. It’s one thing to love the game; it’s another thing to love all the things you’ve got to do to be good at it. He has that.”
That was what the Yankees expected; they've seen enough of Lombard at three different infield positions over the past couple of springs to know he'd excel in the field. The .318 batting average (14-for-44) and .857 OPS have been a bonus at this stage.
“There’s always one at-bat here or there that you find something where you think, ‘I should have done this,’” Lombard said. “I’m always trying to get better in that sense.”
On the day he was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Lombard described his offensive mindset as taking pride in battling against pitchers: “Wear them down. Grind out an at-bat and make them throw some more pitches.”
That’s exactly what the Yankees want him to keep.
“The league is starting to try to make some adjustments to him,” Rowson said, “but his approach works against different types of pitching. We don’t want to change anything, because what he’s doing works.”