Perspectives: Jasson and George (and Anthony)

by Paul Semendinger

August 4, 2026

***

The Yankees had a can't miss prospect. Everyone agreed. This prospect had all the talent in the world. If ever there was a "can't miss" prospect, he was it.

That prospect's name was Jasson Dominguez.

***

The Yankees now have a can't miss prospect. Everyone agrees. This prospect has all the talent in the world. If ever there was a "can't miss" prospect, he is it.

This prospect's name is George Lombard, Jr.

***

We have seen this story before. We have seen it before many times.

Spencer Jones is a can't miss prospect.

Austin Wells was a can't miss prospect.

Anthony Volpe was a can't miss prospect.

Oswald Cabrera.

Gary Sanchez.

Gleyber Torres.

The list, as everyone knows, is certainly endless.

Maybe George Lombard will be the exception to the rule.

I doubt it.

***

There were a few dynamics with Jasson Dominguez that seem to be very similar with George Lombard, Jr.

As each progressed through the minor leagues, they struggled at first. Each's first experiences as the higher level saw the player struggle greatly.

As the player struggled, excuses were made most notably, "He is young for the level he's playing at..."

In spite of his age, and the fact that he struggled at each new level, the Yankees brought Jasson Dominguez to the Major Leagues at 20-years old.

Jasson Dominguez is now headed back to the minor leagues.

The Jasson Dominguez experiment, in short, failed. He wasn't ready. He was too raw. The Yankees did not let Dominguez develop into a player who could or would succeed at the big leagues. He was rushed. And now he's back on the farm - where it can be argued he should have remained until he was ready so he didn't have the struggles he did under the big spotlight of playing for the Yankees.

The Yankees failed Jasson Dominguez more than Dominguez failed as a big leaguer.

***

Today, in spite of his age, and the fact that he struggles at each new level, the Yankees are bringing up 21-year-old George Lombard, Jr.

***

The Yankees continually sell their fans on these "can't miss" prospects. As noted, the list is endless. Some of these prospects end up having brief flashes of brilliance.

The vast majority do not pan out. At all.

I understand that some these prospects sometimes make some of the experts' "Top Prospects" lists. In the end, all of that doesn't mean very much. A player can be on the list, but still not ready for the big time.

The Yankees do this time and again. (And the fans buy it again and again.) "We were wrong with Torres and Wade and Cabrera and Dominguez and Volpe, but this time, this time, we're making the smart decision..."

Forgive me, please, for being very skeptical.

***

Along with the Lombard, Jr. call-up, Anthony Volpe was also sent down. Wait...

Wasn't Volpe the player we were told was "_____ing Elite." He wasn't just good, He was elite. The best of the best. That's what we have been told.

Were the Yankees lying to us? Or, how could they be so wrong?

Volpe even won a Gold Glove! (Side note - I thought the writers didn't give awards to the Yankees.)

***

I don't gamble. I never played that game on the streets in New York where they hide a marble under a cup (or whatever) and you pay money to guess where the marble is.

I never played Three-Card Monty.

Yet, I feel the Yankees play those types of games with their fans all the time.

"Don't look here, look there!"

***

The Yankees act incredulous when they are questioned about their "can't miss" prospects.

When some suggest trading one of these prized prospects for an established big leaguer, they're told that there is no way a trade like that can be made. Brian Cashman talks in those situations about the costs being far too high.

And then, the once great player, the player the fans were sold on, for year and years and years, quietly goes back to the minor leagues. (Imagine the players the Yankees passed on, the established stars they could have acquired, because they refused to trade Jasson Dominguez or Anthony Volpe.)

Now, the newest prospect, the one that this time cannot possibly miss, is brought up to great fanfare, pomp, and circumstance.

Here we go, yet again.

***

Logically, most prospects, from every organization flame out. We all know that. It's difficult to be a big leaguer.

Even more, playing in a pennant race is challenging.

Playing in New York is really challenging.

Playing for the Yankees is extremely challenging.

Playing for the New York Yankees in a pennant race is challenging to a degree that none of us can truly understand.

And yet, here we are.

A young kid, George Lombard Jr., one who struggles when brought up to a higher level of play, and is very young for this new level, is being brought up to play for the Yankees - not just as a reserve player, not to simply take it in and experience a pennant race, but as the new shortstop on the Yankees.

George Lombard is coming up to play one of the most critical positions on the diamond.

The Yankees are bringing him up to save the day. Lombard now needs to be the hero. He is coming up the exact next day after the General Manager failed to address the many needs on the roster at the trade deadline.

"Don't look there. Look HERE!"

***

When Anthony Volpe was brought up, I argued that he should be inserted into the number nine spot in the batting order and left alone so he could acclimate to the big leagues. I suggested that it made no sense to put a lot of pressure on him.

The Yankees didn't do this. They moved him all over the lineup. They never seemed to have a plan.

Part of the reason for Volpe's failures were not his - they were with the way the Yankees promoted and utilized him.

I fear we'll see the same with George Lombard, Jr.

One big exception though was that Volpe was permitted to begin the season with the team. He started his career in April. He wasn't brought up in a pennant race.

The Yankees are making it even more difficult on George Lombard, Jr. He's not just coming up to test the big leagues, he is coming up to help right the ship, one that has been taking on water for months.

***

The move to bring up George Lombard, Jr. reeks of desperation.

It's the wrong move at the wrong time.

The Yankees should have left him alone to build and hone his skills at Triple-A. He lost critical time this year to an injury. (Similar also to Dominguez as he was going through the system.) Rushing Lombard does not help his long-term development.

To ask George Lombard to take over one of the most critical positions on the diamond, in the heat of a pennant race, while replacing the "would-be" stars who were just in front of him who are being sent down because they failed to perform as big leaguers, is asking far too much for a 21-year-old kid.

Now Lombard, Jr. might prove me wrong, but logic and experience scream out that this move is not the right one at this time. It's the wrong move at the wrong time for the wrong reasons.

And the one who will pay the price if this doesn't work out will not be Brian Cashman, who seems to have a job for life, it will be the young talented kid, the ballplayer, who was rushed into an unwinnable situation.

Anthony Volpe is now a minor leaguer, but much of the fault for that lies with the way in which he was promoted, handled, rushed, and coached by the supposed experts in the Yankees system. Volpe was failed by Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone and the coaches.

The same holds true for Jasson Dominguez.

The players pay the price for the system's continual mistakes and poor decisions. But those who make the wrong decisions keep their jobs as they encourage the fans to focus not on the failures but on the new shiny object.

***

Understand this next point because this is critical...

And it is missed by almost every person...

The so-called "Volpe Hate" wasn't necessarily directed at Anthony Volpe, it was, rather, the frustration of watching years of institutional malpractice by the Yankees organization.

Player after player, prospect after prospect, failure after failure, at some point, if one looks critically, and not just with a fan's rose colored glasses, we can see the problem right there in front of us. It is clear as day -

The Yankees failed Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez and countless others.

I am frustrated that Volpe wasn't a star because many of the reasons that he wasn't a star were not just his lack of talent. Volpe's failure was the way he was rushed, utilized, and coached. Volpe's failure was an organizational failure.

But rather than confront that, the Yankees just move on to the next supposed would-be can't miss prospect, who, if history is any indication, will be discarded soon for the next guy.

The fans who buy into the hype only encourage and support the Yankees' approach and practice - one that continually fails the players and one that continually falls short of actually winning championships.

Volpe is now living in a minor league city and traveling to minor league ballparks, along with Dominguez, and a whole host of would-be, could-have-been stars, are out of baseball, while the manager and the general manager and the organization that failed them simply move on to the next guy.

***

I hope George Lombard, Jr. becomes a star.

Unfortunately it seems that he is being thrust into a "no win" situation - like so many before him. The odds are against George Lombard, Jr. not because he isn't talented, of course he has talent, but because of the way the Yankees system works.

This is how the Yankees operate. The pattern is clear. It has been this way for many years. The same mistakes are repeated over and over again.

***

To all bloggers, writers, podcasters, TV people, radio people, and the rest - Thank you for coming to Start Spreading the News. I am glad you agree that we have great content and outstanding original thoughts and perspectives. Please don't take our ideas and our content and pass them off as your own. That's wrong. You know that. If you borrow or use our ideas, give credit to the writer and the site. Do the right thing. Thank you.