How Tulane Two-Way Star Michael Lombardi Boosted His MLB Draft Stock

The Tulane Green Wave baseball season is over, and so could the college career of pitcher and infielder Michael Lombardi.

The Green Wave star is a draft-eligible junior, which means he could be selected in one of the 20 rounds of the MLB Draft in July. History says that most players selected sign a professional deal and head to the minors.

Last year, Lombardi watched four of his teammates get drafted into the Majors — Chandler Welch (Milwaukee Brewers), Colin Tuft (Baltimore Orioles), Brady Marget (Tampa Bay Rays) and Teo Banks (Washington Nationals).

Will he follow them? Well, his work at the American Athletic Conference championship tournament last week certainly helped his stock.

How Tulane’s Michael Lombardi Helped his MLB Draft Stock

Lombardi, a right-hander, was a surprise choice to start the Green Wave’s AAC opener against FAU. After all, he’s their closer. But he put together an incredible effort, as he pitched a two-hitter over seven innings, giving up one run and two walks. He struck out 11. He threw 105 pitches, and one could argue his effort changed the direction of Tulane’s tournament.

His performance kept them out of the consolation bracket and allowed them the smoothest possible path to the title game.

Lombardi pitched again in the finale against East Carolina. He went four innings, allowed two hits but gave up four earned runs. He walked one and struck out six. Even while giving up four runs, MLB scouts will appreciate the gutsiness of his FAU outing and the fact that he only allowed two hits on what would be a normal MLB rest cycle.

The junior finished with a 4-1 record and a 2.14 ERA on the mound, with 11 saves. He struck out 73 and walked 21 in 42 innings. Batters hit just .143 against him. It was a career year in every measure. Earlier this year he was added to the Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.

But when he wasn’t pitching, he was hitting. He slashed .273/.392/.453 with nine doubles, two triples, four home runs and 29 RBI. That was also a career-high season.

It’s not clear where his professional future lies. He will, most likely, be asked to choose a path. Given how difficult it is for Major League teams to find and develop quality closers, teams may look at his track record in high-leverage situations and tag him as a closer-in-waiting after a couple of seasons of development the minor leagues.

But his work in the AAC Tournament and his willingness to do whatever was asked — and effectively at that — surely helped him in the eyes of MLB teams looking at him with an eye on the draft.