BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — The eye-popping headlines have become commonplace, announcing life-altering contracts for baseball’s most-prized shortstop prospects.
Milwaukee’s Cooper Pratt, 21, opened the month by signing a $50.75 million dollar contract before he’d joined the Brewers. Seattle’s Colt Emerson, 20, followed with the largest contract ($95 million) ever signed by a player without MLB service time. Pittsburgh raised the bar by signing MLB’s top prospect, 19-year-old Konnor Griffin, to a $140 million deal. Then, Detroit gave Kevin McGonigle, 21, $150 million.
On Friday, the Yankees’ top prospect, shortstop George Lombard Jr., played third base for the third straight game at Double-A Somerset, moving from his natural position to make room for fellow former first-round pick Anthony Volpe, who will soon return to The Bronx.
Lombard’s scorching start at the plate this season — combined with a glove the Yankees front office deemed MLB-ready — makes it difficult not to imagine what he would look like in pinstripes, but the 20-year-old appears in no rush to join his high-profile peers.
