New York Yankees Promote Top Prospect, a Teen Phenom Who Has Dominated at High-A

Teams in the South Atlantic League won’t be sorry to see George Lombard Jr. go.

Lombard, 19, is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the top prospect in the New York Yankees farm system and the No. 97 prospect in baseball. Starting this season with the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades, Lombard is hitting .329 (27-for-82) with one home run and 13 RBIs. In 24 games, he’s scored 22 runs and has eight doubles, one triple and 11 stolen bases.

And ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Sunday night that Lombard is being rewarded with a move up to the Double-A Somerset Patriots of the Eastern League.

The New York Yankees are promoting shortstop George Lombard Jr., their top prospect, to Double-A Somerset, sources tell ESPN. Lombard, 19, was hitting .329/.496/.488 with one homer, 13 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and a 23-to-22 walk-to-strikeout ratio at High-A. A real big-time talent.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 4, 2025

Lombard is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound middle infielder who has played all but two of his games at shortstop this spring.

And he’s got a big league pedigree. His father, George Lombard Sr., played 144 games spread over six seasons with four different teams. He now is the bench coach of the Detroit Tigers.

The Yankees selected the younger Lombard with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft out of high school in the Miami area. Since the draft, he’s appeared in 147 games in the New York system, with a batting line of .252/.375/.359/.734. He has 35 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 64 RBIs.

This is what MLB Pipeline has to say about Lombard, in part:

“Not only does Lombard feature the potential for solid or better tools across the board, he has the high baseball IQ to make the most of them. He possesses a sound right-handed stroke, recognizes pitches well and uses the entire field, so he's equipped to hit for average. He had surprising issues making contact against in-zone fastballs last year but tightened that hole up as he gained more experience. He has more bat speed and strength than most players his age, which already gives him plus raw power that he'll tap into more often as he learns to lift balls in the air more frequently.”

MLB Pipeline expects Lombard will arrive with the Yankees in 2027. It will be interesting to watch his progression to see if that projection changes.

The Patriots begin a six-game series on Tuesday at the Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland Guardians affiliate).

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