...and now our top infielder is gone (it’s okay, we have more). All of this was expected.

He gone. You can now forget about him ever suiting up at The Hawk.

Pasted below was what I wrote on him earlier in the week:

SS George Lombard, Jr.

MLB.com Prospect Ranking: #31

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 55 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50

George Lombard was an exciting high school product in the Atlanta area who was taken by his hometown team, the Braves, in the second round of the 1994 Draft and went on to play parts of six big league seasons in a 16-year professional career. Now the bench coach for the Detroit Tigers, he’ll get to see if his son can beat his Draft spot as Lombard Junior showed off some intriguing tools on the summer showcase circuit and took a solid step forward in South Florida this spring.

The younger Lombard already looks the part at 6-foot-3 with a pro body that stands out among high school players. The right-handed hitter has a ton of raw pop to tap into and he showed it off at times last summer, though it came with some swing-and-miss concerns and some inconsistent at-bats along the way. Lombard has a long stride and is better runner underway, but he’s worked to improve his overall speed.

There’s some debate over where he lands defensively. While some would send him out as a shortstop, where he does show off a strong arm, good instincts and hands, most see an eventual move to third as he fills out that frame. That might put more pressure on the bat, but the power profile might fit there just fine. Teams will have to decide if they want to take Lombard early enough to keep him from heading to Vanderbilt, where he could develop into a first-rounder in a few years.

ESPN+ Prospect Ranking: #27

Hit: 30/55, Power: 30/50, Speed: 55/55, Field: 40/50, Throw: 55/55

It’s not quite Andruw Jones, Matt Holliday, or Carl Crawford from last summer’s first round, but Lombard Jr. also has big league bloodlines from his father. Lombard isn’t a slam dunk shortstop, with many scouts projecting him to second or third base, but they love his makeup and think he’s one of the safest bets to hit in this prep position player class.

Range: Back half of the First Round (or at least likely to get a bonus offer in that range). There’s just too much smoke about too many back of the first round teams falling in love with this guy for there to be no fire there.

MLB.com Current Mock Draft: #29 to the Seattle Mariners.

ESPN Current Mock Draft: #27 to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Chance He Signs With The Team Who Drafts Him: 99.99%. Again, if you hear his name in the first round (or even within the top 10 rounds), it means a team has met his asking price and he’s gone.