The New York Yankees have parted with plenty of young talent in recent years to acquire star power. Ahead of the 2024 season, they traded away a catcher and four pitchers—including Michael King—to land Juan Soto and Trent Grisham. Later, they dealt Caleb Durbin and Cody Poteet in separate moves that brought in Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams.
Yet despite all the trades, the Yankees have managed to hang on to some of their top prospects—most notably 19-year-old infielder George Lombard jr Drafted in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of a Florida high school, Lombard showed promising tools early on. Being the son of former MLB outfielder and current Tigers bench coach George Lombard Sr. likely didn’t hurt either.
Still, even the Yankees likely didn’t expect how quickly Lombard Jr. would rise.
He was off to a strong start in High-A this season, slashing .311/.466/.356, which earned him a promotion to Double-A Somerset, where he’s already launched two home runs in his first 21 at-bats. His rapid ascent has now been recognized in a big way—climbing 49 spots in the MLB Pipeline rankings to land at No. 44 overall, the biggest jump of any prospect this season.
Lombard was our first in-season addition to the Top 100 after a good showing in Major League camp this spring as the result of a simplified swing and added strength,” MLB.com’s Sam Dykstra noted. “Already considered a potential plus defender at shortstop, he has moved to Double-A Somerset at just 19 years old because High-A proved to be no challenge for him.”
Although Anthony Volpe has the shortstop position locked down at the big-league level, the rest of the Yankees’ infield remains unsettled—especially with Jazz Chisholm Jr. sidelined by a serious oblique injury. While it’s unlikely the team would rush Lombard Jr. to the majors this season, he could be making a strong case for a Triple-A promotion soon—and potentially knocking on the MLB door in 2025.
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