George Lombard Jr. blasts second homer in victory

Lombard put together a memorable debut in Yankee Stadium, making a couple flashy defensive plays in addition to launching his first career home run. The 21-year-old top prospect offers enough over-the-fence pop to be interesting in deeper fantasy leagues, but his stellar defense is the primary reason why New York is rolling with him for the final two months. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot, but fantasy managers should keep their expectations in check since he’s still developing as a hitter at this early stage of his career.

This is now the second straight game with Caballero on the bench. Now that Heliot Ramos is in town and George Lombard Jr. has been called up, it seems that Caballero might be shifting back to being a bench player. Fantasy managers in deeper leagues can hold onto him for a little bit longer given his stolen base upside, but the time may have run out on his consistent fantasy value.

Lombard Jr. becomes the latest member of an exclusive club of players who have homered in their MLB debuts. He also drew a walk and helped turn a couple of double plays and cement a shutout victory. Lombard will likely have some ups and downs over these first two months of his career, but there’s never been a question of talent, and he’s absolutely worth a look for fantasy managers who need middle-infield help down the stretch.

Lombard is at shortstop and hitting eighth against the Cardinals at Yankee Stadium in his major-league debut on Tuesday night. The 21-year-old top prospect is an outstanding defender, which is the primary reason that the Yankees decided to bring him up for their late-season playoff push. He offers some over-the-fence pop, but is still developing as a hitter at this relatively early stage of his career. He was batting .268/.405/.440 with six homers and 10 steals in 262 plate appearances at the Triple-A level this season. It may be unrealistic to expect Lombard to make an immediate fantasy impact, but the talent is there for him to do just that. He’s a name to watch over the final two months.

Lombard will make his major-league debut against the Cardinals on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. The 21-year-old remains a work in progress from an offensive standpoint at this stage of his development, but he’s shown some real over-the-fence pop at the Triple-A level this season. He’s a phenomenal defender and projects as New York’s long-term answer at shortstop, which means they can finally end the bizarre José Caballero and Anthony Volpe timeshare once and for all. He may not provide an instant fantasy impact outside of deeper leagues, but Lombard in a prospect worth monitoring closely, even in shallow mixers.

In five games since returning from a finger injury, Lombard Jr. has gone 8-for-16 with three home runs, four RBI, eight runs scored, and a 4/4 K/BB ratio. Maybe the only thing he hasn’t done well is get thrown out stealing twice. The 21-year-old has a very real chance to push his way into the Yankees lineup in August if he keeps hitting like this after slashing .306/.426/.571 in 14 games in June.

Lombard went deep in his first contest back at Triple-A since June 16. The 21-year-old top prospect wound up missing just over one month recovering from a pair of sprained fingers on his throwing hand. There’s a real possibility he gets the call to New York at some point in the second half with neither Anthony Volpe or José Caballero having a firm grip on the starting shortstop role. It’ll likely come down to whether the Yankees are able to address the position at the trade deadline with a veteran stopgap before they decide whether Lombard is ready. He certainly is from a defensive standpoint, but he could use to extra time to continue his development at the plate on the doorstep of the big leagues.

They condition this with the idea that he’ll need to show his injured fingers are fine and he’ll need to keep producing for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he returns. But in their eyes, the Yankees have no confidence in Anthony Volpe or José Caballero at this point. They also quote Yankees GM Brian Cashman as saying that Lombard “might be a choice at some point.”

Lombard homered for the second straight contest. He also walked twice and completed seven innings at shortstop as he works his way back from a pair of sprained fingers on his throwing hand. The 21-year-old top prospect suffered the injury on a defensive play at second base for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre back in mid-June. He’s put together an excellent season in the upper minors and could be in line for a late-season opportunity with the Yankees. He has the defensive chops to play in the big leagues right now.

Lombard underwent imaging that didn’t reveal any fractures and isn’t facing an extended absence. The 21-year-old top prospect suffered the injury on a play at second base during Tuesday’s game at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’s ready from a defensive standpoint to play in the majors already and has had a strong season at the plate, slashing .258/.387/.446 with eight homers and 12 steals in 287 plate appearances in the upper minors.