The Yankees Need To Give This Top Prospect More Time To Develop

George Lombard Jr., is a top prospect in the New York Yankees organization. He has such hype and heavy media coverage around him you can comfortably argue the fact he is a household name at only 20-years-old.

Lombard won’t be of drinking age till mid season of 2026, but the main question is where will he be drinking that victory champagne? New York has loaded minor league teams from Single-A to Triple, with Lombard listed as their No.1 prospect.

The shortstop finished 2025 with Double-AA Somerset, with a 147 wRC+ and .824 OPS in his final 23 games. Those were solid stats to end things off on, but overall it was a positive end to a rough 2025 season. 

Lombard hit .215 at the AA level in 108 games, which would translate to a sub .200 average in AAA. The righty hitter began 2025 with High-A+ Hudson Valley, where in 24 games he hit .329 with a .983 OPS. Now Lombard is a speedy beast who snatched 35 bases last season, but overall he only had a combined .367 OBP%.

With an MLB ETA of 2027 when Lombard will be 21, going onto 22-years-old, it does raise the question if he will be ready. Obviously Lombard needs to start 2026 in Double-AA and frankly should spend the full season there to develop. There is really no reason to rush Lombard as the Yankees shortstop / second base department is loaded with Volpe, Cabrera, Caballero and Chisholm.

With Lombard being just one of six shortstops in New York’s top-21 prospect rankings, he may end up being trade bait sooner rather than later. If the Yanks’ front office want to give Lombard proper development time to see how he will turn out, then that MLB debut projection will likely move from 2027 to 2028 unless Lombard gets hot in Double-AA this upcoming 2026 season.

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