David Lennon: Yankees' Spencer Jones, George Lombard Jr. put on a show

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The sizable Yankees contingent among the 8,285 fans who filled Hammond Stadium for Friday’s matinee probably hoped they’d see the likes of Aaron Judge & Co.

But the captain doesn’t do 2 1/2-hour bus rides, and neither did the majority of the Yankees’ regulars for this game against the Twins.

What those fans got instead  was the best traveling road show the Bronx has to offer  and a dazzling glimpse of the not-too-distant future. That would be prodigious slugger Spencer Jones and smooth assassin George Lombard Jr., as both figured prominently in the Yankees’ 17-5 victory.

Right now, in the Grapefruit League, they’re a box-office draw all by themselves. Jones hammered his third homer Friday, a 107.5-mph rocket that caromed off the batter's eye in centerfield. At 427 feet, it was his longest of spring training, putting him in a stratosphere where Judge typically roams.

Not that Jones admired the view. He still was sprinting as Byron Buxton  watched it sail over his head.

“You watch the tape, I’m running out of the box until just after first base,” Jones said, grinning. Then he added, “Wind-assisted.”

Jones doesn’t need the help. He slugged 35 homers in 116 games split between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, so having him flex down here isn't surprising. It’s also making everyone anxious to see him in the Bronx, but he’s thoroughly blocked for now.

Trent Grisham surprising the Yankees (but few others) by taking the $22.025 qualifying offer and Cody Bellinger signing his five-year, $162.5 million deal sealed off potential avenues for Jones. Not to mention that Jasson Dominguez — who also homered Friday — remains ahead of him on the depth chart, and Dominguez currently is ticketed for Scranton to start the season.

It's probably not the worst plan for Jones, either. He still struggles against lefthanded pitching and the strikeouts remain through the roof — 179 in 506 plate appearances a year ago for a 35.4% K rate.

It’s easy to forget that sometimes while watching the 6-7, 240-pound Jones pepper Dale Mabry Highway — well behind the rightfield patio at Steinbrenner Field — with 400-foot moonshots.

But progress can be made. Judge, another 6-7 Yankee, also piled up strikeouts during his development. We’re not saying Jones is another three-time MVP in the pipeline (though his stance recently has been compared with Shohei Ohtani). It's just that sluggers built more like NBA power forwards sometimes need some extra reps before getting the opportunity to shine on the big stage.

One comparison that comes to mind for manager Aaron Boone is Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who as a phenom with the Expos struggled to harness the furious energy of his 6-10 frame before ultimately taming his mechanics. Different side of the ball, but same concept. And Jones, 24, is climbing that learning curve.

“It’s just a little more challenging for players that are big,” Boone said. “But if you can get there, then you have a real advantage, because you have leverage — you’re just stronger and bigger than everyone. Once they lock down those mechanics a little bit, like Judge, the power is incredible.”

That’s been the plan for Jones, and spring training is the ideal workshop for trying to refine himself at the plate. For what it’s worth, he didn’t strike out Friday.

“There’s been a lot of conversations behind the scenes, cleaning up the [swing] path, that kind of thing,” Jones said. “You don’t really know what you got until you’re out there facing an arm, and I think that’s been the biggest thing for me learning so far this spring — facing good competition and then just focusing on the stuff I need to do.”

Lombard got a good view of Jones’ blast from the on-deck circle Friday — “I had a good feeling it was going to get out,” he joked — and created a few of his own highlights as well.

In his first at-bat, Lombard jumped on a 3-and-0 fastball from Nick Trabacchi (Smithtown West Class of 2017) and ripped a 103.3-mph shot that nearly drilled a hole through Gio Urshela, with the third baseman waving his glove in self-defense at the two-run single. (Lombard stole second, too.)

In the fourth, Lombard provided his daily defensive gem, ranging deep to his right to grab a grounder in the hole and — in one motion — firing across his body to deliver a one-hop throw that narrowly beat the hustling Austin Martin.

It’s the second time in the past few days that Lombard has pulled off that stunner, making something very difficult appear almost effortless. He  just glides through it when others would be scrambling.

Boone said Lombard has made at least a half-dozen plays in spring training the past two years that have been wow-worthy, and even that number seems light. Playing third base earlier this week, Lombard charged a high chopper and made a barehanded grab-and-throw when many major-leaguers might have chosen to just eat the ball rather than risk it.

“He’s a legit defender,” Boone said.

That’s probably underselling the kid’s wizardry (he’s only 20). Once Lombard becomes a more consistent threat at the plate — he batted .215 with a .695 OPS after getting bumped up to Double-A Somerset for 108 games last year — the minors won’t hold him much longer.

“Stacking good days,” Lombard said. “Trying to get a little better every day.”

Jones and Lombard again were worth the price of admission Friday, with more good days to come.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.