FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Yankees have a new secret weapon against Garrett Crochet.
In the Grapefruit League, at least.
George Lombard Jr. took the Red Sox ace deep to lead off Wednesday’s exhibition, then drilled a single off him in his second at-bat for two of the three hits Crochet allowed.
“It’s always good getting to face the elite guys in the league,” Lombard said. “I was excited for it. Looking for something to hit, not trying to do too much with it and put a good swing on it.”
Lombard has already turned in a standout spring defensively, making highlight-reel plays at shortstop, third base and second base.
But he has also flashed his offensive potential with plenty of hard-hit balls like Wednesday, with his OPS now up to 1.196 through six games.
Crochet, the big lefty who most recently shut down the Yankees in a dominant start in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series last October, threw a 97 mph fastball at the top of the zone on a 1-2 count to Lombard to lead off the game.
The top prospect had no trouble catching up to it, clobbering it over everything (including the Green Monster replica) in left field for a 392-foot homer that came off the bat at 104.2 mph.
Then in the third inning, Lombard roped a 108.5 mph bullet that got past shortstop Trevor Story for a single.
“He’s been great,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You see what he’s capable of. The thing he does pretty well already, as a young hitter, is control the strike zone and has real pop. Obviously a no-doubter there to start things off. He’s just continuing to develop as a hitter.”
Luis Gil looked the sharpest he has all spring in his third start, striking out six and walking two across three-plus scoreless innings.
More significant than the results, Gil’s fastball velocity continued to tick up, averaging 95.7 mph (up from his 2025 average of 95.3) and maxing out at 97.9 mph on a strikeout of Trevor Story to end the third inning.
“It feels great, to know that the velo is there when you need it,” Gil said through an interpreter. “It also shows how the body is progressing and getting into shape to be able to execute pitches like that. Routine is very important and I feel like I’ve been building slowly to that.”
Boone acknowledged that Gil’s “progression has been slow” this spring, but told the righty he keeps getting better.
“I want to see more, because I know what he’s capable of,” Boone said. “Keep working him back to that early ’24 form where he was dominant. I feel like he’s moving in that direction but he’s got to keep doing that.”
Cam Schlittler is scheduled to make his spring debut Friday night against the Rays at Steinbrenner Field after being delayed by mid-back/left lat inflammation.
The Yankees slowed Schlittler’s buildup earlier in camp to let the back issue settle down, but the right-hander has since faced hitters twice and then threw a bullpen session Wednesday morning that cleared him for Friday’s start.
If the rest of his spring goes well, Schlittler should be built up to around 65-80 pitches by the time the regular season begins, Boone said.
Aaron Judge blasted a 453-foot home run in Team USA’s exhibition against the Rockies on Wednesday, taking lefty Kyle Freeland deep on a tape-measure shot that came off the bat at 115.9 mph.
Oswaldo Cabrera is also “trending” toward making his spring debut on Friday, Boone said, as the Yankees ease the utility player back into action coming off a broken ankle last May.
