The New York Yankees have given 21-year-old shortstop George Lombard Jr. his highest batting-order slot of the season, slotting him second Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium.
Manager Aaron Boone’s lineup, posted by Underdog MLB, reads: Ben Rice DH, Lombard Jr. SS, Luis García Jr. 1B, Heliot Ramos RF, Spencer Jones CF, Jazz Chisholm Jr. 2B, José Caballero LF, Ryan McMahon 3B, and Ali Sánchez C. Gerrit Cole is on the mound for the Yankees.
Lombard had not hit higher than fifth in any of his 39 games this year. FanGraphs’ lineup tracker shows nine starts in the five-hole, 15 in sixth, 10 in seventh, and the rest eighth or ninth.
The jump to second is a clear vote of confidence after a late-season call-up.
The Yankees selected Lombard 26th overall out of Gulliver Prep in 2023. They purchased his contract from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Aug. 4.
In 139 at-bats, he is hitting .237 with a .289 on-base percentage, .381 slugging percentage, five home runs, 18 RBI, 20 runs and two steals. His OPS+ sits at 87.
Defensively, he has been above average at shortstop.
He has heated up lately. Over his last seven games he is 9-for-29 (.310) with two homers and seven RBI. On Sunday in Arizona he went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer.
In Tuesday’s doubleheader against Tampa Bay, he collected a hit in each game, including an RBI single in the nightcap loss.
Boone has mixed and matched the middle of the order as Jazz Chisholm Jr. returned from the injured list and outfielders rotated. Rice has been a frequent leadoff option.
Placing the rookie immediately behind him puts Lombard in a high-leverage spot against Rays pitching with Cole on the mound.
The Yankees enter the game 90-67. The Rays sit at 96-61. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. ET.
For a first-year player who spent most of the summer in the minors, batting second in September at Yankee Stadium is a notable milestone.
How he handles the extra at-bats and the speed of the game in that slot will be one of the more interesting subplots of the series finale.
