MLB Draft 2023: Grading the Yankees’ first-round pick

The first day of the MLB Draft will be going on for a little while longer, but the Yankees wrapped up shop with their only selection of the day coming at No. 26 overall in the first round. They opted to go for a prep bat with that choice, choosing shortstop George Lombard Jr. from Gulliver Prep High School in Florida. For a more-detailed write-up of the pick, Marcus and Andrew have you covered right here.

Lombard is currently committed to Vanderbilt, a place that several of the Yankees’ recent first-round picks are connected to such as last year’s first-rounder Spencer Jones who went there and their current shortstop Anthony Volpe who committed before signing with New York. He’s also the son of former big-leaguer George Lombard Sr., who had a six-year MLB career with Atlanta, Detroit, Tampa Bay, and Washington. MLB ranked Lombard as the 31st prospect in the draft pool, which isn’t a far cry from where he ended up going.

It’s an impossible ask every year, but we stick to the tradition all the same — it’s time for your gut reaction to the selection. What do you think of the Yankees taking Lombard 26th overall, as is before his career path unfolds? Let us know in our poll below, and sound off in the comments with your reasoning: