All-Star events will kick off for the big-leaguers on Monday once the first half ends and the honorees descend on Truist Park in Atlanta. But there’s more to All-Star festivities than just the Home Run Derby and the Midsummer Classic itself.
One of the biggest showcases for MLB prospects is the Futures Game. The league itself honestly doesn’t seem to grant enough respect to it, as it’s stuffed in the middle of a day full of MLB action and has also been cut in recent years from the standard nine innings to seven. Nonetheless, it’s still fun to watch, and they at least make it free to watch on MLB.com.
Top Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr. got to represent New York and the Double-A Somerset Patriots at the 2025 Futures Game. The 20-year-old first-rounder from 2023 was given a start at second base, but had to hit ninth in the American League lineup.
No matter! Lombard did what he could in his limited time. In his first at-bat, he faced lefty Marlins prospect Thomas White (Double-A Pensacola) and battled him to a full count before working a walk. Speed is part of Lombard’s game, having stolen 39 bags in 2024 A-ball and 25 in 29 attempts this year between Double-A and High-A. So off he went on a 1-0 count:
Easy steal. Oh, and if you were watching live, you could also hear Lombard amusingly bemoan the wears and tears of a ballgame.
Hot mics! They happen to the best of us. Lombard would move to third on an infield single by the Tigers’ Max Clark and then scored the AL’s first run when Braden Montgomery of the White Sox hit a soft grounder.
A few innings later, Lombard did more than just demonstrate plate discipline. He cracked Braves prospect Hayden Harris’ second pitch into left field for well-earned double.
Statcast had the double off Lombard’s bat at 104.4 mph. His AL teammates couldn’t bring him home. In fact, they would register just two runs on three hits in the 4-2 loss, so Lombard scored half their runs and notched a third of their hits.
Hell, Lombard came very close to notching half their hits, too, as in his third at-bat, he hit a sinking liner to center on a fastball from the Rockies’ Welinton Herrera. But Arizona’s Slade Caldwell made a nice shoestring catch to rob Lombard of a single.
So it goes. Well done to Lombard on a terrific showing at the Futures Game, even if his Junior Circuit teammates didn’t do much to support him. Here’s hoping he excels at a future All-Star Game for New York sometime down the road, too.