Jacob Lombard

An athletic shortstop out of Miami with big league blood lines, Lombard might have the highest ceiling out of anybody in this draft class.

Lombard simply is one of the better athletes you'll find at the high school level. It's 70 grade run times, explosive athletic testing, and range that jumps off the page at shortstop. The defensive tools here are no joke. It's fluid, smooth actions on the dirt with soft hands and quick feet. Lombard can make almost any play when tasked to. Backhand in the hole, diving stop up the middle, he can put his body in any sort of position to make any type of throw. The hands can be a bit unreliable at times, but Lombard has the actions to become a plus defensive shortstop in the future. The arm strength is still a bit of a liability. It's squarely average at this point, and Lombard can at times airmail balls over the first baseman's head when he rushes his body. He makes up for it with a strong internal clock and the ability to throw from multiple angles, but he'll likely get challenged with plays deep in the hole against better runners.

The offensive profile here is probably what still leaves the most questions with Lombard. It's one of the more polarizing ones in the class. Lombard has had simply jaw-dropping showings of raw power at times. In batting practice, he's shown the ability to backspin balls the other way, while also hitting majestic pullside shots. This already may be legitimate plus raw power to all fields, and it could actually play in game too. Lombard has a clear understanding of how to get the ball into the air, especially to his pullside. The offensive upside here is to dream on, that being said, there are still a ton of red flags.

Lombard has had a lot of trouble with swing-and-miss as he's faced better and better pitching. His swing can get up-hill at times, causing him to whiff against velocity thrown towards the top of the zone, and he can at times struggle to adjust to spin off the plate. Despite hitting .261 on the summer circuit all of Lombard's contact rates where below average, be it inside the zone, outside, there where some issues to unpack. There's no reason to think some of these issues can't improve, and he's shown promising flashes this spring, but it's definitely a scary thought to have in the back of your mind if you're a team picking inside the early first round. We've seen recently highly touted prep pospects like Elijah Green simply just not hit enough to make it past certain levels of pro ball (though his career is still in progress). Still, The hope at striking gold with a potential five tool prospect will have teams most likely considering a selection inside the top 10 picks.