Height: 6'0
Weight: 170
DOB: 9/20/1988
Hometown: Fulton, Maryland
College: St. Petersburg JC
Position: Second Base
Nationals Prospect Ranks: BA #13, Sickels #14 (C+)
This switch hitting, slick infielder is the son of former major leaguer
Steve Lombardozzi, who played with the Twins and Astros in his 6 year career. After being drafted in the 19th round of the 2008 MLB amateur draft, the younger Lombo has steadily moved through the Nats minor league system, proving himself at each level. He has maintained between a .370-.375 OBP at each stop through the minors and has proven to be an adequate if not good leadoff hitter. He has frequently been able to work the count, taking lots of pitches, and doing whatever he could to get on base. Much like his father, he is also an excellent fielder, never committing more than 10 errors in a season and committing only 25 in 324 minor league games. His fielding percentage for his career so far is .983. Last season, he helped Potomac earn a playoff birth by batting .293/.370/.409, with 30 doubles and 20 stolen bases. He was promoted a little bit after the halfway mark of the season and continued to hit well with the Senators. He will again begin the year with Harrisburg. At one point, many scouts believed that Lombardozzi would profile best as a utility infielder at the ML level, but more recently some have increased his potential ceiling to that of a top of the lineup 2nd baseman, with comparisons to Nick Punto.
The Nationals selected Lombo to represent them in the AFL last fall, where he was awarded the 2010 Dernell Stenson award, given to the AFL participant who "best exemplifies unselfishness, hard work and leadership." In his AFL stint, Lombardozzi hit for an average of .293 and an OBP of .385, mirroring his career numbers. So far, Lombardozzi has proven to be another late round find by the Nationals, who need all the talent they can stumble across after the MLB-owned and Bowden years.
Here is mention from Fangraphs 5 notable AA batters:
Name: Steve Lombardozzi, 22, 2B
Organization: Washington Level: Double-A
Actual: 118 PA, .295/.373/.524 (.306 BABIP), .396 wOBA
zMLE: 118 PA, .259/.328/.426 (.291 BABIP), .333 wOBA
Notes
• Is noted, in BA’s preseason Prospect Handbook, for being “hard-nosed.”
• Is predicted, in same text, to become “a sparkplug in the Nick Punto mold.”
• Nick Punto, age-21 season (1999), at High-A: 478 PA, .305/.404/.388 (.353 BABIP).
• Lombardozzi at High-A this season: 507 PA, .293/.370/.405 (.336 BABIP).
• That’s pretty similar, although I’m guessing Lombardozzi hits a home run more than once every 189 ABs as a major leaguer.
The Good: Excellent OBP, great fielder that can play most of the infield positions, "hard-nosed" player with leadoff potential, switch hitter, very high baseball IQ, 2009 SAL All-Star
The Bad: Little power, decent speed but has been caught stealing too much (20 in 68 attempts) over his career, doesn't have great talent but makes up for with hard work/IQ
Video from AFLLinks:Baseball Reference PageMilb Page
