Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr. made his Double-A debut on Thursday evening and had a successful start with Somerset.

The No. 44 overall prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, went 1-for-2 with two walks against the Portland Sea Dogs. The lone hit came in his first at-bat in the bottom of the first. Leading off for the Somerset Patriots, Lombard Jr. took a 1-1 in the middle of the plate and slapped it into right field. The 19-year-old hit the ball at 103 mph off the bat.

Lombard Jr. was promoted last week after demolishing High-A pitching earlier this season. In 24 games in that level, Lombard Jr. slashed .329/.495/.488 with a .983 OPS with one home run, eight doubles and one triple. He also stole 11 bases in 13 tries.

He played one game at third base in High-A with the bulk of his starts at shortstop. That's where he played in his Double-A debut on Thursday, just in case Yankees fans are hoping a promotion to the big leagues to play third was an option this season.

Lombard Jr. was drafted in the first round (No. 26 overall) in the 2023 draft and the Yankees have high hopes for the young infielder. After playing in just nine spring training games last year, Lombard Jr. got to see the field in 14 this season. In that time, he went 6-for-26 (.231) while smashing two home runs and stealing one base in two tries.

"Great head on his shoulders; loves the game, great work ethic, smart heady player," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when Lombard Jr was promoted to Double-A. "Over the two years, you've seen him slowly turning into a man and [a] big physical presence.

''The ease with which he can make plays and moves in the field, he's starting to impact the ball more, doing a good job so far of controlling the strike zone -- George is someone we're super excited about. ... He certainly earned that next step up to Somerset. I'm excited for him and the start he's off to. He's got special makeup."

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