Yankees Must Avoid Dangerous Pitfall With Top Young Player

The New York Yankees' farm system is more loaded with pitching than anything else, and their lack of elite position player prospects is one of the primary reasons why their system is not ranked too highly as a whole.

However, their top prospect overall is shortstop George Lombard Jr.

Lombard is a do-it-all infielder who could end up being a Gold Glove-caliber player at some point, and with his offensive potential, he might become an All-Star.

But it's clear that the 20-year-old still has work to do, which is why the Yankees re-assigned him to Double-A on Thursday.

Lombard showed flashes of brilliance in Spring Training, hitting a home run to go along with six RBI and a .333 OBP. He only hit .185 and struck out 12 times in 27 at-bats, but the potential was clearly on display.

But New York needs to avoid one major pitfall with Lombard, and that's rushing him.

Last year, Lombard was tearing the cover off the ball at Single-A Hudson Valley, slashing .329/.495/.488 over 111 plate appearances. The Yanks then promoted him to Double-A, where he managed a .695 OPS across 469 trips to the dish.

The Yankees clearly moved too quickly on Lombard, whose stock actually dipped ever so slightly thanks to his struggles following the promotion. They now need to make sure they don't increase his pace too rapidly again.

This is a huge season for Lombard, who seems primed to become New York's shortstop of the future. If he produces at Double-A, he could ultimately find himself on the big-league roster as soon as 2027. He is that talented.

However, if he labors once again, it could cause some serious complications for him moving forward.

The key, though, is not to suddenly advance Lombard to Triple-A if he performs well. That could be a recipe for disaster. There is absolutely no need to try and accelerate Lombard's development.

Yes, Jazz Chisholm is slated to hit free agency after 2026, so the Yankees may ultimately be thinking of replacing Chisholm with Lombard next season. They could slide Anthony Volpe over to second base and put Lombard at short, or simply have Lombard take over for Chisholm at second.

For that reason, it will be tempting for New York to try and push the former first-round pick along. But it isn't the right move to make.

Perhaps giving Lombard some Triple-A experience toward the very end of the season would be a safe move, but promoting him too hastily and giving him too many high-pressure at-bats at the highest minor-league level could spell disaster.

The Yanks should be treating Lombard with kid gloves. He is too special of a talent to possibly ruin.

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