Alexander Wilson
The Yankees swept Boston and that’s the headline everyone is talking about. But while Cam Schlittler was shutting down Fenway Park on Thursday night, something equally exciting was happening in the minor leagues. Twenty-year-old shortstop George Lombard Jr. is absolutely raking in Double-A, and the New York Yankees are paying very close attention.
Through 16 games at the Double-A level, Lombard is hitting .355/.438/.661 with four home runs, 10 RBIs, a 19.2% strikeout rate, a 13.7% walk rate, and a 181 wRC+. That means he’s been 81% better than the average Double-A hitter to start the year. For a 20-year-old who was not supposed to be at this level of production this quickly, those numbers represent a genuine acceleration of his development timeline.
What Makes Him Special
The thing that stands out most about Lombard’s profile right now is the combination of power and plate discipline showing up simultaneously. Most young hitters develop one before the other. Lombard is flashing both at the same time, with a 13.7% walk rate suggesting he’s not swinging at everything while still posting a .661 slugging percentage that reflects real, consistent hard contact.
His strikeout rate at 19.2% is extremely manageable for a 20-year-old at this level. Most prospects his age at Double-A are fighting strikeout rates north of 25%, so the fact that he’s making contact at this clip while also walking and hitting for power is genuinely unusual. The Yankees have been working with him on pitch recognition and two-strike approach, and it’s showing up in the results.
Lombard was selected by the Yankees in the first round of the 2023 draft out of high school in Georgia, and scouts immediately noted the tools. Plus speed, plus arm, natural actions at shortstop, and a projectable frame that suggested the power was coming. Nobody expected it to arrive in Double-A at age 20 with this kind of plate discipline attached to it.
Where He Fits in the Future
The Yankees aren’t going to rush him, and they shouldn’t. Anthony Volpe is coming back from injury and will reclaim the shortstop job once he’s healthy. Jazz Chisholm is in a contract year at second base with his future status genuinely uncertain. Ryan McMahon has two more years on his contract but hasn’t performed close to expectations. There are multiple pathways for Lombard to eventually reach the major league lineup, and the organization doesn’t need to force any of them before he’s ready.
The most realistic near-term scenario is a promotion to Triple-A sometime this summer, assuming the Double-A production continues at anything close to this rate. If he handles that adjustment well through August and September, he’ll be in the conversation for a major league role in 2027.
Whether that role is at shortstop, second base, or third base is a question for next offseason. I’d bet on shortstop being the long-term position, and the Chisholm situation might resolve itself through free agency in a way that opens up second base naturally. Either way, Lombard is going to be a Yankee, and he’s going to be starting, sooner rather than later.
Right now the Yankees have one of the most exciting young infielders in the minors quietly tearing through Double-A while the headlines are all going to the major league roster. That’s not a bad problem to have.
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