The New York Yankees are promoting their top prospect, infielder George Lombard Jr., to Double-A Somerset, a team source confirmed to The Athletic. ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report the news.
Lombard, 19, hit 329/.496/.488 with one home run, 13 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 24 games for High-A Hudson Valley this season. Lombard caught the attention of the highest-ranking executives this past spring as the youngest player in the Yankees camp.
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The promotion is quite the endorsement for Lombard. The average pitcher in the Eastern League is five years older than Lombard, and the average hitter is nearly four years older.
He’ll be the youngest player in the league when he debuts for Somerset and one of just four Double A players who are 20 years old or younger, joining Nelson Rada, Ethan Salas and Sebastian Walcott.
Lombard, who won’t turn 20 until next month, has played fewer than 60 games in High A and did not play well last season, finishing with an 85 wRC+ in 29 games.
But the Yankees are fast-tracking the shortstop to a much tougher league — a sign they believe he can handle the leap in competition. Yankees captain Aaron Judge spoke highly of Lombard back in early March.
“In your first camp, you’re trying to come in here, you’re trying to impress, and sometimes you can maybe do a little too much,” Judge said. “But he has stepped right in and has kind of owned it all. He’s a hard worker, just like his dad. I’m excited for his future, that’s for sure.” (His father, George Lombard Sr., is the Detroit Tigers’ bench coach and played six years in the majors.)
It’s still highly unlikely Lombard will make his MLB debut in 2025. But if he impresses in Double A this year, it’s not impossible to think he could debut in 2026.
(Photo: Kim Klement Neitzel / Imagn Images)
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