MIAMI, Fla. – Draft season is back in the MLB as part of the loaded midsummer schedule for the league and once again South Florida finds itself in the headlines for the draft pool.
The Miami Marlins have never shied away from picking Florida talent, the issue is that most of the Florida kids they pick are not from their backyard, as most of those kids end up venturing to other teams and becoming contributors to other teams. The last time the Miami Marlins picked a player right out of their backyard was 2019 when they selected Lorenzo Hampton 28th round, and before that Joe Strzelecki in 2018 from Nova Southeastern University in the 34th round.
However, the wait is finally over, South Florida finally has a representative on their home team after seven years of waiting.
With their first pick in this years draft the Miami Marlins selected Jacob Lombard from Gulliver Prep, etching another notch in an already historic and prestigious baseball program in Florida high school sports.
Gulliver Prep has had more than 20 players drafted over the years, but just two first-rounders.
Funny enough, the title of the other first round pick to come out of Gulliver Prep is none other than Jacob’s older brother George Lombard Jr. and if you know anything about baseball, that has been a very talked about name over the past year, as George who was drafted back in 2023, has been propped up as the number one prospect in the New York Yankees farm system.
Just like his brother, Jacob played at the shortstop, which is a position the Marlins have been looking to address for a while since they let Miguel Rojas walk after the end of the 2022 season. Since then, the position has gone back and forth between Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez.
Jacob has been a highly touted prospect, MLB had him ranked as the fifth best player in this year’s draft class, along with Perfect Game ranking him the second best player in the nation out of all high schoolers, and the number one player in the state of Florida.
Lombard was absolutely dealing at the plate this year as well. The right-handed hitting infielder slashed .477/.607/.864 (42×88) with four doubles, 10 home runs, and 25 RBI in his senior season at Gulliver Prep.
With this pick, history gets made in the MLB, as the Lombard family officially becomes one of three baseball families with three players selected in the first two rounds of the MLB Draft. Jacob ends up being the highest pick as his brother George was taken at 26 back in 2023, and their dad George Sr. was taken in the second round.
Lombard does have an interesting decision to make, while he can officially cement his legacy as the next big thing to represent South Florida on the diamond by fully committing to professional baseball and going through the Marlins system. He also has the choice of backing out and staying home at the same time, as he is currently committed to play baseball at the University of Miami as a member of the Hurricanes baseball program, either way, Lombard has the option of representing South Florida no matter what he decides to do.
