LAKELAND, Fla. -- George Lombard Jr. continued to impress in his second big league camp, particularly on defense, where the Yankees’ top prospect contributed dazzling plays at three different infield spots.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has said the club believes Lombard -- baseball’s No. 32 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline -- could handle big league defense right now, but he would benefit from more development time to reach his offensive potential.
He’s getting that opportunity. Lombard was reassigned to Minor League camp Thursday afternoon after the club’s 4-3 Grapefruit League victory over the Tigers and is likely to begin the regular season with Double-A Somerset as he continues working toward the Majors.
“I feel like I’m blessed to be in that situation, where I have those expectations and goals to meet,” Lombard said earlier this spring. “I really just try to block that out. I acknowledge the situation that I’m in, and then just focus on my work and let those things figure themselves out.”
In 11 spring games, Lombard was 5-for-27 (.185) with one double, one triple, one homer, six RBIs and two stolen bases.
The 26th overall selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, Lombard began last season with High-A Hudson Valley, where he slashed .329/.495/.488 with eight doubles and 11 stolen bases in 111 plate appearances before earning promotion to Somerset.
Lombard managed a .215/.337/.358 slash line in 469 plate appearances there, with 24 doubles, eight homers and 24 stolen bases.
Though his production dipped against more experienced competition, the organization wasn’t alarmed.
“Under the hood, he was much better than the surface stuff,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said earlier this spring. “[Our analysts] even had him hitting a bunch of home runs with a Major League ball. For whatever reason, in Double-A it’s a little different.”
Boone said Lombard has shown “real signs of controlling the strike zone and having the ability to impact the ball.”
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“I’m refining my approach with every at-bat,” Lombard said. “I think the most important part is just competing, having competitive at-bats and not giving any free ones away.”