The Yankees and Mets chosen extremely regarded highschool shortstops with their high picks within the 2023 MLB Draft, persevering with a current emphasis on the place by each groups.
George Lombard Jr. went twenty sixth total to the Yankees on Sunday after a standout profession on the Miami-area Gulliver Preparatory School. Colin Houck of Georgia’s Parkview High School then went to the Mets with the thirty second choose.
The Mets later used the 56th choose on Brandon Sproat, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher from the University of Florida, whom they initially drafted final 12 months however didn’t signal.
In Lombard, the Yankees get a 6-foot-3, 190-pound expertise with main league lineage. His father, George Lombard, performed six MLB seasons and is now the Detroit Tigers bench coach.
The youthful Lombard, 18, hit .478 with six residence runs and 22 RBI in 29 video games throughout his senior season at Gulliver Prep. He is dedicated to Vanderbilt, like former first-round choose Anthony Volpe was when the Yankees drafted him.
MLB Pipeline ranked Lombard as its No. 31 draft prospect and famous some evaluators envision him ultimately transferring to 3rd base.
“George has a number of physical attributes and is an elite athlete with all five tools and skills to play shortstop,” stated Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ scouting director. “He has 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.”
It’s the third time in 5 years the Yankees used their high choose on a shortstop. They chosen Volpe out of Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., in 2019, and Trey Sweeney out of Eastern Illinois University in 2021.
The Mets’ collection of Houck marked the second consecutive 12 months they took a highschool shortstop early. They used the 14th choose on Jett Williams in 2022.
MLB Pipeline ranked the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Houck as its twelfth greatest draft prospect, making his slide to No. 32 a nice shock for the Mets. Houck additionally excelled at Parkview in Gwinnett County, Ga., as a quarterback, however turned down soccer scholarship affords to decide to Mississippi State.
The Mets hope to signal him, in addition to Sproat, who in the end went again to Florida after the Mets chosen him within the third spherical of the 2022 draft. Sproat recorded an elevated 4.66 ERA final season for the Gators, however did have 134 strikeouts in 106.1 innings.
The Yankees didn’t have a second-round choose Sunday, having forfeited that choice to signal beginning pitcher Carlos Rodon.
On Monday, the Yankees used their third-round choose on lefty pitcher Kyle Parr out of Palomar College close to San Diego. The Mets, in the meantime, used third-round choices on Oklahoma State right-handed pitcher/outfielder Nolan McLean and Nevada right-handed pitcher Kade Morris.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com