Yankees select shortstop George Lombard Jr. with 26th pick
The 1992 MLB Draft gifted the Yankees then-high school player Derek Jeter, and the 2019 draft gave them their current starting shortstop in Anthony Volpe. On Sunday, they hoped to strike oil again, drafting another high school shortstop in George Lombard Jr.
With the 26th overall pick, the Yankees went with the son of former major-league outfielder George Lombard, currently the Tigers’ bench coach.
“George has a number of physical attributes and is an elite athlete with all five tools and skills to play shortstop,” said Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ vice president of domestic amateur scouting. “He has the ability to impact the ball and use the whole field for power, alongside good contact skills. The makeup is a separator. He is focused on every pitch with an unquestioned work ethic. All of that from a young man with Major League bloodlines and a mom that was also a high-end collegiate athlete. We really see potential for a high-ceiling middle-of-the-field player.”
Lombard, 18, a righthanded hitter who also plays third base and is coming out of Florida’s Gulliver Prep, has got plenty of room to grow. That said, he boasts a 6-3, 190-pound frame with plenty of raw power, according to MLB.com’s prospect rankings, and made significant strides in his senior year.
Lombard, who was ranked 31st in this year’s draft class by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, projects to have above-average power and arm strength but will need to further develop his plate discipline, according to his scouting report. His frame “suggests bigger power is coming,” according to perfectgame.org, which noted his “hyper quick release and very smooth hands” at shortstop.
The Vanderbilt commit was named to the 2022 PG All-American Classic.
The Yankees lost their second- and fifth-round picks for exceeding the luxury tax — an aftereffect of Carlos Rodon’s six-year, $162 million contract.
The 26th pick has a slot value of $3.065 million, according to MLB.com, with the Yankees’ total draft bonus pool coming out to $5,299,400, which will be divvied up among their higher-round picks. (They can spend more but would be leveled with a hefty tax for doing so.)
Rounds three to 10 will take place Monday beginning at 2 p.m. The draft will continue with its final 10 rounds at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.
