The New York Yankees were desperate for some offensive help at the trade deadline. That’s why they traded for Heliot Ramos and Luis Garcia Jr. while ignoring the bullpen and catcher-sized holes on the roster. Ramos has been slow to get going, and Garcia Jr. has been better, but not much more.
Instead, the most impactful addition might’ve come internally. No, the Yankees didn’t get Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, or Cody Bellinger back, as much of a boon as any one of them would be. No, they simply called up top prospect George Lombard Jr., and he’s been ridiculously good since debuting.
George Lombard Jr. Might Be the Next Yankees Superstar
It is impossible to get a good feel for who a player is after four games. That is such an inconsequential sample size that it’s ridiculous to project anything from that. George Lombard Jr. has four games under his belt with the Yankees, and as good as they’ve been, he could totally crater from here. Nevertheless, we’re going to overreact to how good he’s been.
One baseball X account pointed out how great Lombard has been in comparison to some really high-profile players. By WAR, which is a value stat that combines offense, defense, and baserunning as it all compares to the average player, Lombard has outshined some stars in a fraction of the time.
Kyle Tucker was the offseason’s biggest signing. Trea Turner is a superstar. Manny Machado might be a Hall of Famer one day. Bo Bichette was another huge splash last offseason. They’ve all played 110 or more games. Compared to Lombard’s four, though, they pale in comparison. Lombard has 0.6 bWAR, which ranks first among those players, tied with Tucker and Turner. He’s been better than Machado and Bichette.
Switching to fWAR, a WAR stat I like better, Lombard has accumulated 0.4 fWAR. That already surpasses a number of notable baseball players:
- Boston Red Sox OF Jarren Duran
- San Francisco Giants SS Willy Adames
- Cleveland Guardians OF Jo Adell
- Philadelphia Phillies IF Alec Bohm
- Kansas City Royals C Salvador Perez
He’s accumulated 0.4 fWAR in four games. If he were to play a 150-game season, he’d have a 15.0 fWAR season. For reference, the highest total ever recorded in a season was Babe Ruth in 1923, and he recorded 15.0 fWAR. Again, the minuscule sample size cannot be ignored, but he’s been incredible in that sample size.
How is Lombard doing this? It’s been a dual effort on offense and defense. He hit a home run for his first career hit, and that was a good omen. So far, he has a 191 wRC+, which ranks first among all Yankees players this season. He has a .359 xwOBA, which ranks third behind Aaron Judge and Ben Rice.
He’s been very solid defensively, too. At shortstop, he has three defensive runs saved in 47 innings. If he were to play a full season at that pace, he’d have a historically good defensive season. Again, the sample size is tiny and impossible to project off of, but he’s been a wizard with the glove. He hasn’t been a good baserunner, but he hasn’t been bad. He’s at 0.0 BsR, which is probably due to lack of opportunity.
The Yankees needed offense, and they quietly needed a lockdown defender to help their defense out, too. Offense was more pressing, hence the additions of Luis Garcia and Heliot Ramos, but Lombard Jr.’s arrival has helped both parts of the game immensely. It’s only been four games, but it looks like the future of shortstop is here now for the Yankees, and not a moment too soon.
