George Lombard Jr. showed up in the middle of a family draft night moment, and Yankees fans immediately started playing detective.
Lombard Jr. had already been scratched from Sunday afternoon’s MLB Futures Game at All-Star Weekend, with his sprained fingers the presumed reason. The Yankees had entered the weekend expecting two participants, but both Lombard Jr. and Carlos Lagrange were knocked out by the injury bug.
Then came Saturday’s draft watch party, where cameras caught George and his brother Jacob celebrating together. That was enough to send Yankees Twitter into full diagnosis mode, especially with one observer noting, “Didn’t see any sort of wrap on George’s hand at the clip of his brother’s watch party 👀”
The timing only added to the speculation. Brian Cashman had recently described Lombard Jr. as someone who “might be a choice at some point in the second half,” which made it easy to wonder whether the prospect’s health was trending in the right direction just in time.
Jacob Lombard’s draft slide also created a family twist. He had been projected as high as fourth overall to the Giants, just outside the top three, but San Francisco went another direction and took UC Santa Barbara pitcher Jackson Flora instead. Lombard, a high school prospect with plenty of attention, had to wait longer than expected before hearing his name.
When the dust settled, the fit made sense. The Lombards both came through Gulliver Prep in Miami, and the younger Lombard has said he wants to share a field with his brother someday. For now, that dream will have to wait for an interleague Yankees-Marlins matchup.
Jacob’s landing with the Marlins also gives him something familiar as he begins his pro career. The article notes that while George Sr. and Jr. will both be on the road with the Tigers and Yankees farm teams respectively, Jacob gets a path that keeps him close to home as he works through Miami’s system, with big-league goals still within reach.
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