FORT MYERS, Fla. — Nobody told George Lombard Jr. that he was supposed to be nervous. Then again, nobody told Garrett Crochet that a 20-year-old in his second big league spring training would swing first and worry later against his 97 mph heater.
The New York Yankees blanked the Boston Red Sox 4-0 on Wednesday at JetBlue Park. The final score barely tells the story. The real headline came on the very first at-bat, when the Yankees’ top prospect sent a Crochet fastball screaming over the replica Green Monster on national television.
Lombard is not on the Yankees’ Opening Day roster. He may not be in the Bronx this season at all. But for one afternoon, he made Crochet, the same pitcher who tormented the Yankees in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series just five months ago, look very hittable.
Crochet came in dominant and left impressed
Yankees fans remember what Crochet did last October. In Game 1 of the Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox lefty struck out 11 over 7 2/3 innings and allowed just one run. Boston won that game 3-1 before the Yankees rallied to take the series 2-1.
Crochet carried that reputation into Wednesday. He went 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and 255 strikeouts in 2025, finishing as the AL Cy Young runner-up behind Detroit’s Tarik Skubal. He is a two-time All-Star who throws 97 mph with ease.
None of that fazed Lombard. On a 1-2 count, Crochet threw a 96.8 mph fastball up in the zone. Lombard caught up to it and drove it 392 feet over the left-field wall at an exit velocity of 104.2 mph. The blast aired live on ESPN.
“I felt like I was just not really convicted in the four-seamer,” Crochet said. “I was just talking about that with Kutter [Crawford], just trying to push it up in the zone instead of just throwing it up in the zone. But that was a good swing, because it was still a good bullet by me.”
Lombard got to Crochet again in the third inning. He roped a 108.5 mph single past shortstop Trevor Story. Those two at-bats accounted for two of the three hits Crochet allowed on the afternoon.
“Got behind, tried to throw a sinker, make him run out of bat,” Crochet said. “I thought he caught it off the end, but he still hit it pretty well. Yeah, good player, good swings.”
Lombard keeps showing the Yankees what he can do
“It’s always good getting to face the elite guys in the league,” Lombard said. “I was excited for it. Looking for something to hit, not trying to do too much with it and put a good swing on it.”
The 20-year-old has been one of the standout performers in Yankees camp this spring. He has made highlight-reel defensive plays at shortstop, third base and second base. His OPS through six Grapefruit League games sat at 1.196 after Wednesday.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone has seen enough to know the talent is special.
“You see what he’s capable of,” Boone said. “The thing he does pretty well already as a young hitter is he controls the strike zone and has real power. Obviously, a no-doubter there to start things off.”
Boone then pointed to the next step in Lombard’s development.
“It’s just continuing to develop as a hitter. The next level is, hit tool, keep developing that. Because the defense, knowledge of the strike zone and the ability to impact the ball is there, and he keeps developing physically year over year. It’s noticeable.”
Even the Red Sox skipper saw something special
The Yankees drafted Lombard 26th overall in 2023 out of Gulliver Preparatory School in Pinecrest, Fla. He reached Double-A Somerset as a 19-year-old in 2025, slashing .235/.367/.381 with nine home runs, 87 walks and 35 stolen bases in 132 games. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the Yankees’ No. 1 prospect and No. 32 on the Top 100 list.
GM Brian Cashman has called his defense “MLB-ready” and put his major league debut timeline at 2027. But after Wednesday, the conversation about how far his bat trails behind has shifted.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora had heard about Lombard before the game. What he saw confirmed the reports.
“I knew about him,” Cora said. “He’s a good athlete. His brother is, too [Jacob Lombard, the No. 4 prospect in the 2026 Draft class]. He’s a good defender. Caught up with that fastball up. He’s a good player. He’s going to be a good player for a while.”
That endorsement from the opposing dugout says plenty. When a manager who just watched his ace get roughed up by a prospect still tips his cap, the talent is real.
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