Yankees' George Lombard Jr. move puts Blue Jays on the clock with their top prospect

On Sunday, the Yankees shocked the baseball world by promoting top prospect George Lombard Jr. to Double-A Somerset. 

While Lombard’s promotion makes sense given his stats (he slashed .329/.496/.488 with one home run and 11 stolen bases in 24 games at High-A), he’s still only 19, and the Yankees are an organization known for taking its time with top prospects. 

But it looks like they’re breaking the mold with Lombard. And that could put some pressure on the Blue Jays as they deal with Arjun Nimmala's future.

Yankees' George Lombard Jr. move puts Blue Jays on the clock with Arjun Nimmala

Like Lombard, Nimmala is a young shortstop prospect at the High-A level. And, like Lombard, he’s making it look like a cakewalk. 

The 19-year-old Nimmala entered Wednesday hitting .283 with six home runs and 13 RBI in 24 games with High-A Vancouver. 

The Blue Jays picked Nimmala in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and he played in nine games of Rookie Ball after being drafted. He struggled in his first taste of Single-A last year before heating up as the season went on. 

Nimmala has been near the top of the Blue Jays’ prospect rankings since he was drafted, and entered the season as the team’s No. 1 prospect. That ranking, combined with his strong start to the season, has led to some noise from the fanbase about when he’ll earn his next promotion.

That noise will only get louder thanks to Lombard’s promotion. 

While the No. 1 prospect for the Yankees will always get more attention than other prospects, Lombard has raked everything in sight since the Yankees picked him in last year’s MLB Draft.

And even if doesn’t seem like Lombard is going to make his MLB debut for the Yankees this year, this promotion means that there’s a chance that he could end up joining the Bombers in 2026. 

The same can’t be said for Nimmala. While there’s still a chance that he could make his MLB debut next year, that gets less and less likely the longer that he stays at High-A. 

He’s not the only Blue Jays prospect they’re taking their time. Trey Yesavage has been lights out at Single-A but still has yet to earn a promotion. Part of that is due to his injury history, but it’s clear that the Blue Jays want to take their time with their top prospects. 

Which is great, no one wants prospects to get hurt or burnt out by playing at a level they’re not ready for. It’ll be tougher to keep to that approach if Lombard plays well at Double-A for the Yankees. 

Lombard is the third-youngest player at Double-A. Nimmala would be the second-youngest if he got promoted behind only the Rangers’ Sebastian Walcott.

Regardless, it seems like Nimmala is ready for his promotion. He’s torturing High-A players, and has a lot of the same skills that the Yaankees pinpointed as reasons for Lombard’s promotion. 

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Lombard impressed evaluators with his swing decisions and batted-ball data. 

The same can be said for Nimmala. He has a strikeout rate of 20% this year (Lombard’s was 19.8%) and is slugging .525. While he’s only walked in 10% of his at-bats, his power and approach makes up for that. 

Whether it’s fair or not, Nimmala and Lombard’s minor league journeys will always be connected. The Yankees have already made their decision about Lombard’s promotion. 

Now it’s the Blue Jays’ turn.