The Royals focused heavily on athleticism in the 2025 draft, selecting high school players Sean Gamble and Josh Hammond with their top two picks.
Kansas City went to the college ranks with their third selection, drafting Tulane two-way player Michael Lombardi in the second round. He was announced as a righthander and will be developed as a starting pitcher, despite working from the bullpen for much of his college career.
The pre-draft concerns regarding Lombardi were whether he could build the durability to start and develop a better third pitch to round out an arsenal highlighted by two plus pitches in his fastball and curveball.
The Royals scouting staff, led by director Brian Bridges, were on Lombardi going back to the 2024 fall ball season. Area scout Cody Clark focused heavily on him throughout the 2025 season, with additional eyeballs coming from vice president of player personnel Lonnie Goldberg, national scouting supervisor Sean Rooney and special assistant Tom McNamara.
Even when seeing him working out of the bullpen while also being a productive outfielder, the Royals believed Lombardi’s future was in the rotation.
“You’re dealing with an athlete who’s highly competitive,” Bridges said about Lombardi, “a two-way player who wants to concentrate on pitching, with limited mileage on the arm, athletic and feel to pitch.”
Focusing strictly on pitching will allow Lombardi to continue working on the growth and improvement needed. He didn’t often use his changeup in college, but Bridges said that he has feel for the pitch and can develop it to be an average offering.
Lombardi’s outstanding makeup is another key attribute, first observed by the Royals scouts and later by the player development staff once he got to the Royals’ minor league complex for the fall instructional league program.
“He wants to be successful,” Bridges said. “He’s a good learner . . . a highly competitive kid who wants to succeed.”