The Yankees drafted one more participant with Vanderbilt ties within the first spherical of the MLB draft. Shortstop George Lombard Jr. from Gulliver Prep High School (Fla.) was chosen twenty sixth general by the Bombers on Sunday.
The son of former main leaguer George Lombard was dedicated to play shortstop for Vanderbilt simply as Anthony Volpe was again within the 2019 draft. Now Lombard must make the choice to move to Nashville or jumpstart his skilled profession with the Yanks.
The number of the 18-year-old comes a yr after the Yanks dipped into the Vanderbilt basket once more deciding on outfielder Spencer Jones with their first-round choose within the 2022 draft.
“It does look like we’ve gone down that route. It says something about Vanderbilt,” mentioned Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees’ Vice President of Domestic Amateur Scouting. “They recruit good gamers, they’ve program and — identical to we do — they do their deep dives into what sort of human being they recruit.
“So, when it comes to a Volpe, when it comes to a Spencer [Jones] and this year with George, there’s a common theme that we’re getting guys with talent that have good intestinal fortitude, they have work ethic and I think we’re on the same page with some of those things they’re doing at Vanderbilt.”
The 6-3 Lombard hit .478 (43-90) with six homers and 22 RBI in 29 video games throughout his senior season at Gulliver Prep and was named by the Miami Herald as one of many Miami-Dade County Athletes of the Year in 2023.
While the stats and accolades are spectacular for the shortstop prospect, the Yankees’ attraction to deciding on him within the first spherical goes manner past the field rating and deep into his bloodlines.
“There isn’t one thing, there’s a lot of things that intrigue us about him,” Oppenheimer mentioned. “His athleticism, the truth that he was a two-sport man— he was an elite soccer participant additionally. The manner he performs shortstop, hit instruments that he has to play shortstop, his energy that he has to swing the bat and his contact abilities.
“You top that off with elite makeup — the guy has grit, he doesn’t take any pitches off and you get major league bloodlines having his dad being an ex-major league player and his mom being an elite soccer player and gymnast. Those kinds of things all add up to us to what we think we can get is a special prospect, special major league–type player.”
Lombard Sr. performed six years with the Braves, Tigers, Rays and Nationals, proudly owning a .621 OPS in 144 profession video games. The 47-year-old is now the bench coach for A.J. Hinch’s workers in Detroit.
Despite his measurement, the Yanks imagine Lombard can and can stick at shortstop as Oppenheimer touted his athleticism and projectability to stay in the course of the diamond. It seems that shortstop could also be locked up for a very long time within the Bronx with the 22-year-old Volpe seemingly coming round — .300 with 4 homers and a .906 OPS in 24 video games since altering his stance on the notorious rooster parm dinner with catching prospect Austin Wells.
Oppenheimer added that regardless of Volpe’s potential long-term stronghold on the place, that doesn’t alter their decision-making of taking the very best accessible within the draft.
“Unlike the opposite sports activities the place they’re type of choosing for want straight away, we’re not. We’re attempting to guarantee that we’re capable of choose for what we predict is finest accessible. For us, attempting to remain in the course of the sector is essential. Guys that may be athletic in the course of the sector, that’s why we go along with that. …
“We had a lot of people in this one that were on board with George. There was no dissension at all in terms of picking him, so that turned out pretty good.”
2024 SCHEDULE
The Yankees will open up the 2024 season of their home of horrors. The Houston Astros will welcome the Bombers to Minute Maid Park on March 28, 2024 for a three-game sequence as MLB launched the schedule on Thursday.
The Subway Series shall be making a return in the identical two-game sequence format as seen in years previous. The Mets will host at Citi Field from June 25-26 with the ultimate two video games coming at Yankee Stadium on July 23-24.
The Yanks’ first journey as much as Fenway Park will come on June 14-16 for his or her first take a look at the Boston Red Sox. The Sox will head to the Bronx from July 5-7.
The membership will shut out their season with a six-game homestand together with three towards the Baltimore Orioles (Sept. 24-26) and three with the Pittsburgh Pirates (Sept. 27-29).
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Source: www.bostonherald.com