Yankees Could Surprisingly Give Up No. 1 Prospect

The New York Yankees are leading the AL East and envisioning another playoff run as the trade deadline approaches. Are they willing to sacrifice their most promising prospect for postseason power?

Writing for MLB.com, Yankees insider Bryan Hoch suggested that the team's best trade chip is George Lombard Jr., currently playing for Double-A Somerset, the Yankees' affiliate.

"Lombard has drawn praise from Yankees veterans and scouts from other organizations alike early this season, earning a promotion to Double-A at age 19. Jazz Chisholm Jr. said during a recent rehab assignment that he expects Lombard will make it to the big leagues soon, where he will 'rise and shine as a star.' Double-A manager Raul Dominguez compared Lombard to Omar Vizquel defensively, saying he believes Lombard 'can be one of those guys to win a lot of Gold Gloves in the big leagues.'"

Lombard is the only Yankees prospect among the Top 100 at the moment, at 41, so giving him up for star power would be a risky move for the future of the organization.

In a recent rehab game with Double-A Somerset, Jazz Chisholm Jr. played with Lombard (who has since turned 20) and was impressed with the upstart's baseball IQ.

"George is pretty amazing," Chisholm said. "I know the numbers don’t show it, but when you sit there and watch this kid — who is 19 years old — make every play on defense and barrel up every pitch that he’s supposed to barrel up, you can’t wait until he gets to the big leagues and play with him in the big leagues."

During the same series, Lombard initiated a notable double play from second in which he let the ball drop, launched it to first, and caught it back at second. The Somerset Patriots posted this video on Twitter.